Remnant's new ACE hunter
by Nikola the Einstein
Summary: He was the son of Gol D. Roger. He was supposed to have gone to Hell. Instead, an unlikely character decides to give him a second chance. Trapped within a weaker body, Ace must learn to survive in a world filled with Grimm, weapons, and a strange assortment of females. Will Ace survive? Will he change the fate of Remnant itself? Find out here on Remnant's new ACE hunter.
1. Chapter 1

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 1: So I'm Not Going To Hell?

" _Talking_."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

 **...Marineford…**

"...You guys still loved me, Thank you so much," Ace managed to say before his body finally gave out. He would never see the sacrifices made shortly afterwards. He would never see the pained look of his gramps, or the shattered expression of his brother.

 **...Somewhere in limbo…**

Ace opened his eyes to a strange sight. One minute he was leaning on his brother, the next he's in what he thinks is Hell.

"I thought Hell would have more fire," Ace mused mostly to himself as he looked around his surroundings. As far as he could tell, he was in some sort of white room. Looking down at himself, Ace couldn't help but wince and scowl. There, right in the middle of his chest, was a fist shaped hole that came out his back.

"That looks like it hurt," said a voice behind him. Ace jumped back a little as he turned around. What he saw was some man of obvious asian descent. The guy had on a white sports coat with a black dress shirt underneath. On his legs were black jeans,and on his feet were black dress shoes. The guy had flowing blonde hair with the bangs swept to the left.

"Yeah,"Ace said as he looked the guy over again. "Pardon me for asking, but who are you, and where am I?"

"Sorry, my bad. Guess I should have started with my name. While I've been called many things, you can call me Monty Oum, or just Monty works too," the now named Monty said. "As to where you are, that's a little more complicated to answer. Basically, you're in a state of limbo, neither Heaven nor Hell."

"Okay, that explains the room. I guess my next question would be why am I here?"

"I brought you here," Monty answered immediately.

"... you can do that?"

"I _am_ a god," Monty stated with a smile that was more than a little smug. Ace raised his eyebrow at this, but decided not to question it. Being a pirate, he'd learned a long time ago that looks could be deceiving.

"The reason I've brought you here is that you've caught my interest. I am offering you a second chance of sorts."

"You're gonna bring me back to life," Ace asked with a little bit of suspicion in his voice.

"Yes and no. You're dead in your world. Nothing can change that," Monty paused as he saw Aces' shoulders visibly slump. "However, that doesn't mean you can't be brought back to life in another world." Ace turned his head a little at that. "What I'm offering is for you to be reborn on a world called Remnant."

"And why would I want to do that? Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that a god took interest in me, but I don't really see why I should play along."

"It's either this or going to hell and getting to know dear ol pops," Monty said with a very smug smirk. He knew about Ace's problem with his dad. Judging from the glare Ace was giving him, Ace knew that he knew the problem here.

 _Don't kill the god, Don't kill the god,_ Ace was thinking to himself as he forced himself to not **HIKEN!** the god to kingdom come.

"When you put it like that, guess I don't have much room to bargain," Ace remarked as he forced a grin on his face. Monty either didn't notice it, or just chose to ignore it.

"I'm so glad you chose to see it my way. I should probably give you a heads up. You're going to regain your memories when you're about 7 or so years old, give or take a couple of years. Until then, you won't have knowledge of your abilities or your previous life." Ace didn't seem too fazed by this. He just nodded his head and motioned for Monty to continue.

"This part might be a little harder to swallow. You see, Remnant as a whole is significantly weaker than what you're used to. If I were to let you go in as you are now, suffice to say you would quite literally turn everyone to ash. I can't have that, so when you're reborn, you will have a weaker body." Ace was about to shout when Monty held his hands up."Don't worry, you'll still be superior to most things you would have to face there." Monty avoided saying people because he knew what else was lurking on Remnant.

"Seeing as how I'm basically being forced to do this, I won't let it bother me too much. So how does this rebirth thing work?"

"Basically I"m gonna zap you with my god powers and turn you into a baby, then I'll ditch you somewhere." Normally Ace would have raised numerous complaints and protests, but at this point, he just wanted to get it over with. "I'll also make sure to take care of this," Monty said while gesturing to the gaping hole in Ace's chest. "Won't even leave a scar."

"Will it hurt?" Ace asked in a half joking tone as he saw Monty's hands glow white.

"Just a little," Monty said as he concentrated on Ace's body. Monty shot a bolt of white energy at Ace.

"Ow," Ace muttered as he felt himself losing consciousness. Less than a minute after he was hit, Ace was turned into a baby that couldn't have been more than a couple of months old. Since his normal clothes were too big for him now, Monty gave him some ordinary baby clothes. Monty also magicked a couple of blankets to swaddle the child in and proceeded to open a portal to some small town in the middle of the night.

He stepped through the portal while carrying the infantile Ace and looked around. Deciding to explore a little, Monty walked down the dimly lit street. He soon stopped in front of a building that had a sign above the door that read "Patch Orphanage." Monty smiled to himself.

"So I'm in Patch huh? Hope you like puns and cookies Ace, because I feel like you're gonna get plenty of both," Monty joked as he set Ace on the floor in front of the door. Before leaving, he conjured a small name tag with Ace's name on it and placed it on his person. He also put Ace's precious hat next to him on the floor.

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Well Ace, I formally welcome you to your new life." Monty did an elaborate bow before ducking into a nearby ally.

 **...PATCH ORPHANAGE…**

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Who in their right mind comes knocking at 1:27 in the morning," a woman muttered to herself as she put on slippers and went to the door. When she opened the door, she saw no one was there. Grumbling about "rotten teenagers," and, "undisciplined hooligans," she was about to close the door when she noticed a pile of blankets on the ground.

"What do we have here?" The woman mused to herself while picking up the bundle. After unraveling the blanket bundle,the woman was faced with a small, sleeping baby boy with freckles and black hair. "Well aren't you just the most adorable thing," the woman cooed before noticing that next to the baby on the floor was a hat.

"Is this yours child?" The woman asked Ace, though she didn't expect an answer. Picking the hat up,the woman placed it on the baby's head, though it was much too big. "What's this?" The woman asked as she noticed something sticking out of Ace's blankets. Picking it up, the woman saw that it was a nametag.

"Portgas D. Ace huh? Well Ace, seeing as how you're here all by yourself, let me take you inside and give you a nice warm crib," the woman said as she carried Ace inside and closed the door. What she didn't see was a certain god doing a victory dance in an alley next to a dumpster. Once said dance was finished, Monty opened a portal to go home, before stepping in, he took one last look at the orphanage.

 _Well Ace, I'm going to be taking off now. Hopefully you'll survive longer in this life._

 _ **A/N: Hello everyone and welcome to my first ever fanfiction. As with most books or written works, the beginning is a little slow and short. Do not worry, future updates will be longer and generally have more plot and stuff. Seeing as this is my first ever fanfiction, please bear with me as I learn to be a writer. Feel free to leave criticisms and suggestions in the reviews. It would help me grow as a writer if I knew specifically what I need to work on. That being said, please don't be too mean to me, I don't think my weak resolve could endure it. Also, I would appreciate it if you were a little specific with your criticism. I can't do much with, "You're a bad writer," or, "This story is complete and utter trash and not even worth my time." I may be over exaggerating a little, but you get the idea. Also, updates may be somewhat erratic until I can find a rhythm I'm comfortable with. Guess that's all I have to say, see you all next update.**_

 _ **Until then.**_


	2. Chapter 2

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 2: Broken ribs and apologetic cookies

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

 **...6 years later, Woods outside of Patch…**

"Hurry up Ruby! We're almost there," A child with blonde hair in pigtails said as she dragged a smaller girl with black/red hair. It was early morning and Yang had taken Ruby into the woods after breakfast.

"You haven't even told me where 'there' is Yang," Ruby whined as she tried to break out of her sister's grip, to no avail. Even as children, Yang dominated Ruby in strength. Though she couldn't break out of Yang's grip, Ruby was certainly making it difficult for Yang to drag her.

"Alright already," Yang said, clearly impatient, "If I tell you where we're going, will you come along willingly?"

"Yes," Ruby said with a smile.

"So basically I was out exploring yesterday, and you know what I found? A treehouse!" Yang exclaimed while raising her arms into the air. Ruby immediately ceased all her struggles and looked at Yang with wide eyes.

"Really!? A treehouse!? Well what're we waiting for. Let's go!" Ruby said as she immediately started running ahead of Yang. Said blonde hadn't moved from her spot and was giving the retreating form of her sister an amused look.

"5...4...3...2… and 1," Yang counted down as she saw Ruby coming back towards her.

"Yang? I kinda forgot that I don't know the way. Maybe you should lead?" Yang gave a happy chuckle before motioning for Ruby to follow her. They continued walking for a few minutes before coming into a clearing about 10 meters in diameter. There, right in the middle, was a tree with multiple branches. Near the middle of the tree was the treehouse Yang had told Ruby about. It wrapped around the circumference of the tree and sloped into a spherical roof. A rope ladder went farther up still and led to a small crows nest. In the crows nest was a pole with a flag that had a burning fist on it.

"Wow," was all Ruby could say as she stared in awe at the tree bound abode.

"I know right?" Yang said with a smile.

"Who built it?"

"Don't know, don't care. C'mon, let's go explore it!" Yang said as she started making her way to the rope ladder at the base of the tree.

"I thought you already explored it," said Ruby. Yang shook her head and said that it was almost night time when she found it, and had to get home. Ruby nodded in understanding and looked back at the tree house. Instead of excitement, her face showed unease.

"Should we really be going inside? This is obviously someone's tree house. Wouldn't it be rude to just barge in?" Ruby asked as she looked at Yang. The blonde haired girl had started thinking about Ruby's concern. Her face suddenly lit up as she had found a way to convince her sister to enter the treehouse.

"Ruby, if whoever built this didn't want anyone exploring it, then that person would have done a better job at hiding it," Yang said with confidence. Ruby seemed to buy the child like logic of Yang's argument.

"Oh, i guess that makes sense," Ruby said. "Let's go inside." With that the girls climbed the rope ladder and entered the tree house through a hatch on the floor. Looking around, Yang couldn't help but be impressed. Whoever had built this had included a long window going sideways along the wall. Not only did it let a lot of natural sunlight in, It gave the girls a spectacular view of the forest floor. The space inside the treehouse was occupied by a couple of bean bag chairs and a crate that was turned upside down. On the crate was a stack of-

"Comic books!" Ruby squealed in delight. She plopped herself on one of the bean bag chairs and proceeded to look through the collection of comic books. Yang, not really being a fan of comic books, decided to up to the crows nest. Yang climbed up another set of rope ladders and entered the crows nest through a hole cut out of the bottom.

"Wonder what the burning fist means," Yang asked to no one in particular as she stared at the flag. Shrugging her shoulders, Yang decided to see what else the tree house had to offer.

 **...A few minutes away…**

Ace was excited. Today was the day he was gonna climb to the tippy top of the tree and build another crows nest. In one hand he had his black bo staff, and in the other he was dragging a small cart full of tools and wood. The staff was in case something, human or not, attacked him. The supplies he had procured through a mix of buying, borrowing, and steaĺing. In his defense though, he was planning on re-paying everyone when he was older.

"Maybe I'll be able to see the orphanage from up there," Ace said with a huge grin. As he was nearing the clearing, Ace thought he heard children laughing. Weird. He had never seen any other children playing near this area before. It was one of the reasons he had his tree house there. Ace, having already decided to be a little cautious, crouched in the bushes just beyond the clearing.

Ace gazed up at the tree, and, sure enough, he saw a head of blonde hair up at the crows nest. Narrowing his eyes, Ace left his cart of supplies in the bushes and readied his Bo staff. Before acting, Ace checked one more time to see if the blonde was distracted. Seeing that she was, Ace darted towards the tree with speed surprising for a child his age. Foregoing the rope ladder, Ace jumped on one of the lower branches and snuck his way to the long side window. He saw a small girl in a black skirt, red shoes, and a white shirt with a red, sleeveless, capped hoodie over it.

The girl's concentration was currently focused on a comic she was reading. Ace quietly entered the room through the window and snuck up to the girl. Not wanting to hurt her, Ace tapped her head with the end of the Bo staff. She gave out a startled yelp and turned around to face Ace, all while backing up into the wall.

"What are you doing in my tree house," Ace asked in a serious voice. Maybe it was the tone of his voice. Maybe it was the scowl he was giving her. Maybe it was the fact that she was backed into a corner and he was brandishing a weapon. Ace would later reflect that, in hindsight, it was probably all of the above that had caused the girl to yell for her sister.

"YANG! HELP!" The tone of her voice must have conveyed the terror she was feeling, because, less than 3 seconds later, the blonde one was jumping in from the hatch on the roof. What she saw was a boy around his age holding a black staff. Any other observation was overshadowed by the look of fear on her sister's face.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Yang yelled at the top of her voice. Without a second thought, she charged and tackled Ace, who was too surprised to dodge or block. The Bo staff went clattering to the floor as Yang laid punch after punch on Ace's face. The poor boy was much too shocked and confused to put up much of a defense.

"Ruby, get out of here!" Yang ordered, not letting up on punching the mystery boy. Ruby nodded and quickly made her way down the rope ladder as fast as she could. Yang followed her sister soon afterwards, leaving a dazed Ace to recover.

"What the Hell just happened?" Ace asked himself as he tried to get his thoughts in order. "Take it from the beginning Ace. First, you were intimidating a girl with reddish black hair, then she screamed for help. Then there were blonde pigtails and punches." Ace was brought out of his musing when he heard a familiar scream of terror.

"What now?" Ace said as he got up to look out the window. There, on the forest floor were the two girls from earlier. That itself wasn't very important. What was important was the Beowolf in front of them. It was small and young, so young that it didn't even have the characteristic bone protrusions normally associated with Grimm. However, it was still a Grimm, therefore dangerous.

 **...A couple of minutes earlier…**

"Are you okay Ruby?" Yang asked with concern as she checked her sister for any injuries.

"I'm okay Yang. Shouldn't you be more concerned with yourself? You have blood on your fists

"It's not mine," Yang said, sparing a glance at her knuckles. "C'mon, let's get out of he-" Yang stopped talking when she heard growling. Growing a little scared, Yang looked around to try to find the growlings source.

"Yang," Ruby nervously said while tugging on her sleeve. Yang looked at her and saw the Beowolf a few meters away. The Grimm must have been attracted to the fear and unease Ruby had when she was confronted by the boy.

"Ruby," Yang said while trying to keep the wavering in her voice to a minimum, "Get behind me." Yang placed herself between Ruby and the Grimm. It wouldn't do much. What could a four and six year old do against a monster twice their size? The Beowolf suddenly snarled, causing Ruby to scream and stumble.

"Ruby get up," Yang pleaded. Though she was trying not to show it, Yang was terrified right now. She was convinced that they were going to die. They would never see their father again. Yang would never see her real mother. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes, despite her best efforts to keep them down. Ruby was already quietly crying, having thoughts similar to Yang. When the Beowolf finally lunged, Yang closed her eyes, hugged her sister, and tried to shield Ruby's body with her own.

*Thunk!*

When the Beowolf never landed on them, Yang opened her eyes. In front of her and Ruby was the boy from earlier. He had his Bo staff leveled in front of him, and, judging from the blood on one end, coupled with the fact that the Beowolf was now a couple of meters away and had a couple of teeth missing, it was pretty easy to guess at what had happened.

"You girls should get back into the treehouse," Ace said while sparing a glance at Yang and Ruby, who by now had also opened her eyes. His eyes snapped back into place when he heard the Beowolf growling again. Scowling, Ace tensed as he prepared to react to the Grimm's next attack.

"Go!" Ace yelled as the Beowolf lunged again. He quickly swung the end of his Bo staff at the Grimm's head. The Beowolf gave a growl of pain ass the staff connected with it's snout, causing it to stumble back a few steps. Not needing to be told twice, Yang quickly grabbed Ruby and raced towards the tree house. Seeing that its prey was escaping, the Beowolf lept at the sisters only to have the boy smash his staff on the back of its neck.

Recognizing that it wouldn't be able to kill the girls while the boy was still around, the Beowolf focused all of its attention on the freckled kid. The Grimm swung his clawed hand at the boy. The boy ducked under the blow and swung his Bo staff at the Grimm's knee.

Ace gave a small smirk when a crack was heard and the Beowolf howled in pain. Now the Beowolf was moving with a noticeable limp. Undeterred, The Grimm charged the boy again, this time slashing both hands down on him. Ace raised his Bo staff and blocked the two handed attack. What followed was a brief bout of strength as Ace grit his teeth and fell to one knee. Seeing that he was struggling to keep the attack off of himself, Ace quickly rolled out of the way as the attack made contact with the ground.

Ace took a moment to try to catch his breath. Ace was well aware that he was nearing the limit of his stamina. "Guess I'm gonna have to end this," Ace said as he braced himself. He then charged the wounded Grimm and twirled his staff to gain momentum. The Beowolf in turn charged at Ace.

Just before clashing, Ace jumped and brought his staff down on the Grimm's neck. At the same time, the Beowolf made a fist and punched Ace in his midsection. A sickening crack was heard throughout the forest, much louder than when Ace had broken the Grimm's knee. Ace was sent flying into the tree his tree house resided on. The Beowolf, on the other hand, collapsed to the ground, his neck bending at an unnatural angle.

Ace groaned when he tried to get up. The punch, coupled with slamming into the tree, had definitely broken a few ribs. He wasn't coughing up any blood, so that meant he hadn't punctured any organs. Considering he just fought a Beowolf, Ace wasn't very upset about his injuries. Heck, he would be dead right now if he didn't have an exceeding amount of strength, speed, and endurance for a child his age.

"You can come down now," Ace said, raising his voice a little so he could be heard up in the treehouse. The girl with blonde pigtails looked out the window and checked if the Grimm was really dead. Considering that half its body had already disintegrated, like all dead Grimm did, it was safe to say that it was dead.

Yang was the first to come down, followed by Ruby. Once they were on the forest floor, they turned to look at Ace, who was sitting up against the tree with his left hand holding his side. No one said a word as they awkwardly stared at one another.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"So my names Ace," Ace introduced himself. Now that things had calmed down a little, Ace took a better look at the blonde one, as he had already familiarized himself with the red one. She was wearing a short sleeve shirt with stitching going up both sides. On her legs were form fitting shorts that went to just above her knee. Around her shirt she had a dark orange belt. She also had brown shoes with baggy orange socks. Around her neck was a bandana. Neither of the girls said anything. Yang looked uncomfortable, while Ruby had an amazed expression with what Ace could have sworn were stars in her eyes.

It seemed like they didn't hear him and remained silent. Growing uncomfortable, Ace decided to try again. "My names A-"

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" Ruby practically shrieked. "You were all like Hiyah! And Wa!" Ruby said while making various, comical karate strikes. For the second time that day, Ace was dumbfounded. Not even 3 minutes ago, this girl was terrified for her life. Now she was acting as if the Grimm attack hadn't happened at all.

While Ruby was praising Ace, Yang took another look at him. He was wearing black sandals, black shorts and a red tank top. Looking at his face, Yang was surprised to see that he had freckles. They actually made him look kind of cute and innocent, not that she would ever admit that to him though. Looking at his eyes, Yang gave a small gasp. He had the brightest red eyes she had ever seen. They were practically glowing!

Ace turned away from Ruby for a second and caught Yang staring. Embarrassed, Yang looked away and crossed her arms. Ace raised his eyebrow, but decided not to question it. Looking back at the girl with red hair, Ace saw that she had finished recreating Ace's battle.

"I'm Ruby Rose," the small girl said while holding out her hand. Ace smiled and reached out to take it.

"Portgas D. A-" Ace didn't get to finish as Yang stepped in front of him and Ruby. She slapped away his hand and glared. This was the second time he had been cut off, and frankly, he was getting tired of it.

"Do not touch my sister," Yang commanded, clearly still hung up on the previous incident.

"Why? She wanted to shake hands with me," Ace asked as he looked past Yang at Ruby. The silver eyed girl looked like she wanted to say something to Yang.

"Yang it's no big deal," Ruby meekly said.

"No big deal!? Ruby this guy was threatening us! We could have been hurt!" Yang exclaimed while pointing an accusing finger at Ace.

"Maybe I wouldn't have had to scare your sister if you had stayed out of my treehouse," Ace snapped at Yang. "Besides, the only one who got hurt here is me!" Ace said while pointing at his black eye and bloody nose. Yang had the decency to look sheepish.

"Whatever," Yang muttered as she looked away from Ace, "Come on Ruby, let's go home. It's almost lunchtime anyway." Yang turned around and started walking away. Ruby started to follow her sister after giving Ace one last glance.

"Your welcome," Ace muttered as he tried standing again. He managed to make it to his feet. When he tried to take a step, however, his ribs flared. Ace gasped in pain and fell to one knee. Taking a few deep breaths, Ace tried again, only to fall on his back in pain. He groaned, finding the situation to be very annoying.

"You okay?" Ace turned his head to the source of the voice, and, to his surprise, Ruby had come back. Yang was there too, though judging from the look on her face, she was here unwillingly.

"I think I broke some of my ribs," Ace said as he sat up. "I doubt I can walk back to Patch without puncturing my lung." Ace said, trying to lighten the mood with a smile. Ruby had a concerned expression as she tried to think of a way to help Ace. Looking at Yang, Ace saw that her expression had softened considerably, and even looked concerned.

"Any way we can help?" Ruby asked. Ace paused for a few moments before smiling.

"You see those bushes over there," Ace asked as he motioned to a cluster of vegetation to their right. Ruby and Yang nodded. "There should be a cart there. Please bring it here." Ace said. Realizing what Ace was planning on doing with the cart, Ruby skipped towards the bush. She came back with a small cart. Said cart still had all the supplies Ace had planned on using. Ruby dumped everything on the floor and gestured towards the cart.

"In," was all she said. Wincing a little, Ace managed to enter the cart. Ruby grabbed the handles and hummed to herself as she pulled the cart. Yang hesitated for a few seconds before picking up Ace's Bo staff and taking it with her. Ruby seemed happy enough to pull the cart, so Yang didn't bother offering help. Yang looked at the staff, and was surprised to see that it was all metal.

"Hey why is this staff solid metal," Yang asked, her gaze still fixed on the staff.

"..."

"..."

"Are you ignoring me?" Yang threateningly asked as she looked at Ace, whose shoulders had slumped, and his head had tilted forward.

"..."

"Hey look at me when I'm talking to you," Yang said while pointing the staff at him. Ace gave no reaction, and stayed in his original position. "I said look at-"

"...zzz…"

"And he's asleep," Yang oh so brilliantly observed.

"Give him a break Yang, he did just fight a Beowolf." Ruby remarked from the front of the cart. This was the first time Yang and Ruby experienced Ace's narcolepsy, though it wouldn't be the last. With Ace asleep and Yang swinging around his Bo staff, no one really payed attention to where Ruby was leading them. Only when they were in front of their destination did Yang pay attention.

"Ruby, why did you bring him to our home?" Yang asked. Ace woke up just moments later.

"We at the hospital yet?" Ace asked while stretching. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about his broken ribs. He winced in pain and rubbed his side. Looking up, he saw what he guessed was the girl's' home. "This is not the hospital," Ace observed.

"Of course it isn't. You think I'm gonna abandon you to those wretched creatures called doctors? With their needles and their bad tasting medicine and weird smelling exam rooms," Ruby paused while she shivered in horror," I could never do that to another human being!" Ruby exclaimed. Ace looked at Yang.

"Is she serious?"

"You have no idea," Yang said. Ruby meanwhile was still ranting about doctors. This time she was talking about how they try to gain your trust with lollipops, but that she was too clever for that.

"Ruby, sorry to interupt, why did you bring me here?" Ace asked while gesturing to Ruby's house.

"My dad's really good with first aid. He should be able to fix you up." Ruby said while gesturing for Ace to get down. He nearly fell to the floor when he tried to walk though.

"Here, give me your arm," Ruby said while placing Ace's arm over her shoulders. Seeing that Ruby was struggling a little to support Ace, Yang walked over and placed Ace's other hand on her shoulders. He looked at Yang in surprise. He hadn't expected her to give him any sort of help.

Wordlessly, they made their way to the front door. When they entered the house, Ace saw some blonde man sitting on a couch, reading a book.

"Hey girls, lunch is on the table if you're hungry," the blonde man said, not even looking up from his book.

"Hey, dad. Listen, this boy has some broken ribs so could you maybe do your first aid stuff?" Ruby asked with a smile. Taiyang looked up from his book and saw some boy with a black eye and bloody nose, though most of the blood had dried up by now, leaning on both of his daughters.

"Ruby, why didn't you take him to the hospital?" Taiyang asked, though, knowing his daughter, he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"Dad, I could never be so cruel as to leave this boy to those filthy monsters called doctors," Ruby said with a growl. Yep. Taiyang knew it. Sighing, he got up and walked towards them.

"Here sit him at the table," Taiyang said while gesturing to a chair. "So does someone want to explain what happened?" He asked while fixing his gaze on his daughters. He would listen to the boy later. Right now, he wanted to hear it from his daughters. Ruby was more than happy to oblige.

"So Yang found a treehouse and took me to that tree house and we played in the treehouse and then he showed up," Ruby pointed at Ace, who was cleaning his face with a wet rag Taiyang had given him. "Turns out it is rude to enter someone's' treehouse without asking first and he pointed that stick at me," Ruby pointed at the Bo staff Yang was holding, "and i screamed and Yang came and punched him in the face and then we left and then a scary Grimm showed up and then he saved us and then he broke it's neck and then the Grimm punched him into the tree!" Ruby finally finished and started gasping, clearly out of breath.

Taiyang was able to understand most of what Ruby had said, and looked at Ace.

"You killed a Grimm?" Taiyang asked, clearly impressed that the kid could do that.

"Yeah, but not before it punched me." Taiyang lifted Ace's shirt up and saw that his chest was heavily bruised.

"Here's what I'll do, I'm gonna treat your injury, and then you're going to explain yourself." Taiyang said while pulling a first aid kit out of one of the kitchen cabinets. He then dressed the wound and wrapped it in bandages. He also cleaned and wrapped a few cuts and abrasions Ace had gotten on his arms and legs when he had been slammed into the tree. When Taiyang applied the disinfecting alcohol, Ace didn't cry out or even flinch, something Ruby considered, "Totally hardcore."

Now that Ace was thoroughly bandaged and treated, Taiyang led them into the living room and sat them down on the couch.

"First question: Did you hurt my girls?" Taiyang gave Ace a hard glare.

"No." Ace said, meeting the older man's glare with a blank face. Taiyang looked at the girls.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"Yeah, he didn't lay a hand on us, he just looked menacing and dangerous," Ruby said. "That didn't stop Yang from punching him a lot." Ruby said with a smile, not seeing Yang fix her with a glare.

"Alright. Next question: Why did you threaten them?"

"They entered my tree house without my permission. I thought they were intruders!" Ace exclaimed. Taiyang looked at the girls, asking them if it were true.

"Yang told me that if he didn't want us playing in his treehouse, then he should have done a better job at hiding it." Ruby said, unaware of the fact that she was unintentionally throwing her sister under the proverbial bus. Taiyang fixed a small glare on his blonde daughter. She had the decency to look sheepish.

"Alright, last question: Why did you save my daughters?"

"Seeing two kids being eaten by a Grimm would have ruined my appetite," Ace said with a smile, clearly joking. His smile faded away when he saw that Taiyang had not found the joke amusing. "Oh, you were serious. I don't know, I guess I saved them because I didn't like the idea of seeing them die."

"You realize you could have died as well?" Taiyang asked with a raised eyebrow. Secretly though, he wa amazed this child would risk his life to save a couple of girls he had barely met that day.

"Better me than them," Ace said. Taiyang had to hide a small smile.

"Seeing as how you saved my girls, I, as the father of these two little angels, hereby pardon you of any offenses you may have committed against them," Taiyang said while adopting a dramatic voice and gesturing eccentrically. Ace couldn't help but smile. Partly because he was off the hook, partly because the guy in front of him looked ridiculous.

"You, on the other hand," Taiyang said while pointing at Yang, "are grounded."

"What!? Why!?" Yang exclaimed in anger.

"You manipulated your sister into a dangerous situation." Taiyang said while adopting the over dramatic voice again. "Therefore, I hereby revoke your motorcycle magazine privileges for the next month." Tiyang said while crossing his arms. Yang looked positively devastated.

"But, But"

"No buts young lady. Now take your sister to your room. I want to," Taiyang paused, realizing he didn't even know the kid's name. Ace Seemed to guess what the blonde hunter's pause meant and decided to fill in the blank.

"Portgas D. Ace."

"I want to talk with Ace in private." Yang grumbled and took Ruby to their room. "So, do you have any parents?" Normally Taiyang wasn't this blunt with kids, but considering this kid killed a Grimm, he was sure that Ace could handle a little straightforwardness.

"Nope. Orphan."Ace answered in a calm voice.

"I see, so you live at Patch Orphanage then?"

"Yep."

"How old are you?"

"6. I'll be 7 in a few months." Ace said immediately.

"Listen Ace, I really appreciate what you did for my daughters. Not a lot of people would have put their life at risk for complete strangers." Ace looked uncomfortable at receiving praise. "How long have you been working on your treehouse?" Taiyang asked, wanting to learn a little more about the boy.

"Almost 2 years. I started when I was 5." Taiyang's eyes widened when he heard this. At that age kids should be playing with supervision, not wandering into the middle of the woods and using tools to build stuff!

"And the people at the orphanage are okay with this?"

"After the first few times they tried to keep me inside, they kind of learned to let me do my own thing. I've never mixed well with authority."

"How much time do you spend at your treehouse?" Taiyang asked.

"Most of my free time. I try to avoid being at the orphanage during the day." Seeing Taiyang's curious expression Ace decided to elaborate. "I like it at the orphanage, so I try to reduce the chances of me getting adopted. This usually means not being present during visits, and when I am present, picking fights with them."

"Uh, okay. I don't really know how to respond to that. Alright, I don't want to keep you waiting. You can leave now if you want." Ace nodded and got up. He looked around, searching for something.

"Uh sir, I think the girl with blonde pigtails may have taken my staff into her room with her."

"Go get it then. I think I'll wait here," Taiyang said as he picked his book up from the coffee table.

"Uh, where is their room?"

"Downthe hall and then upstairs. First door on your left." Taiyang said. Ace nodded and followed the man's directions.

 **...Meanwhile, in Ruby and Yang's room…**

"This is all his fault! Because of him, I'm gonna lose out on valuable motorcyle info!" Yang exclaimed while pacing her room. Ruby was sitting on the bottom bunk of their bunk bed. She had been trying to calm Yang down.

"Yang?"

"What?"

"Why did you take Ace's staff with you?" Ruby asked while pointing to the staff which lay propped up against the wall.

"I… actually don't know. Guess I did it without thinking."

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Hey, I think you have my Bo staff in there," came the muffled voice of Ace through the door. Ruby got up and went to open the door.

"Hi Ace, so what did my dad tell you?"

"He just asked me stuff about my life. Also he wanted to thank me for saving you girls," Ace said while looking at Ruby. He looked at Yang.

"So can I have my staff?" Yang grabbed the staff and shoved it in his arms.

"Here, now leave," Yang said, not looking him in the eyes.

"Thanks,,, uh,,, you know you never told me your name." Ace said.

"Yang Xaio Long,now leave," Yang threatened. Taking the obvious hint, Ace backed out of the girl's room and went back into the living room.

"I think Yang hates me," Ace told Taiyang, who merely chuckled.

"Trust me, she doesn't hate. She's just embarrassed that you had to save her. Give her some time and I'm sure she'll come around. Speaking of which, you want to come over for dinner tomorrow?" Taiyang asked, looking up from his book.

"Why?"

"Because we're going to properly thank you. Trust me, you'll like the way Ruby shows gratitude. Don't worry, I guarantee you that Yang will have cooled off by then." Taiyang said with a smile.

"Okay, what time should I show up?"

"Around 6 is fine."

"Alright. We'll sir, I should get going. See you tomorrow," Ace said while picking up his staff and leaving out the front door. Taiyang smiled as he got up and walked to the stairs. He Still had to talk with his daughters. Summer would have done a much better job at this. Taiyang stopped and sighed. As much as he missed her,Taiyang couldn't afford to get depressed. His daughters needed him more than ever.

"Hi girls," Taiyang said as he walked into their room. Yang was lying on the bottom bunk, while Ruby was reading a weapons magazine. "So Ace is going to be coming to dinner tomorrow," Taiyang causally said. Ruby's eyes widened.

"Does this mean-"

"Yes it does Ruby. We'll go get the ingredients tomorrow." Ruby fist pumped with excitement.

"I'm gonna go check if we have any red velvet icing left," Ruby said before running out of the room. Now it was just Yang and her father in the room. Taiyang stared at his daughter, wondering what to say.

"Dont worry dad, I don't hate him," Yang said, reading her father's mind. "I'm just… a little embarrassed that I beat Ace up, and that he had to save us." Yang mumbled to her father. "He probably hates me," Yang said.

"He doesn't hate you. He actually doesn't really know what to think about you." Taiyang said with a smile. "Why don't you apologize?"

"You know I'm not good with that kind stuff dad," Yang said with a sigh. Whenever she had to apologize to someone, it just came off as forced and awkward. Taiyang was quiet for a moment before thinking of something.

"Why don't you help Ruby with what she's doing? Make a special one and give it to him."

"Dad, that sounds really stupid." Yang deadpanned at her father.

"Got a better idea?"

"... if I'm gonna do this I want to use strawberry and orange icing." Yang said as she got up and went to the smiled to himself.

"Who says being a parent is hard?"

 **...Patch Orphanage…**

Ace sighed. He wouldn't be able to work on his treehouse for a few days until his ribs healed. Having nowhere else to go, Ace had gone back to the orphanage. He cringed as he realized it was still going to be visiting hours for a while. People always wanted to adopt him. His freckles made him look adorable to them. Coupled with his bright red eyes, he was grade A adoption material.

"Maybe I'll just hide on the roof again," Ace said to himself. He noticed a woman walking towards him. He smiled, recognizing her. Her name was Sally, and she was the lady who had picked him up all those nights ago. She was in her early 30's and had blonde hair. Her usual outfit consisted of a dark green skirt going to her knees, and a brown long sleeve shirt. On her feet were black shoes. She usually wore a black bandana around her head. It was done more for her own safety, as if you were to look under, you would see a pair of squirrel ears. She's a squirrel faunus.

"Oh my god! Ace what happened to you!?" Sally exclaimed, looking over Ace's bandaged state. Ace liked her a lot. She understood his quirks and that he didn't like being ordered around. She didn't try to stop him, she just made sure he was as safe as possible. She was actually the one who had given him the Bo staff. When asked why, all she said was that Ace was too young for a knife.

"I saved two girls from a Grimm. Then they took me to their home and their father treated my broken ribs. I'm going over there for dinner tomorrow." Ace said with a smile. Sally sighed, but didn't freak out too much. Ace got hurt more often than you would think.

"I swear, you're the reason I'm getting gray hairs." Sally complained a she took Ace to his room.

"So tell me about these girls." Sally said as she sat on his bed.

"One has reddish black and is a couple years younger than me. Her name is Ruby. She seems really nice and sweet. The other is blonde and named Yang. She's… alright. Sure she punched me a lot, but I guess I kind of deserved it." Ace said. Sally looked at him curiously, so Ace explained what had happened before the Grimm had attacked.

"My guess is that she just feels embarrassed by the whole ordeal." Sally said.

"Huh, that's exactly what their dad said."

"Wanna make her feel better?"

"I guess."

"Invite her and Ruby to your treehouse. Become her friend. You don't have any friends, so making a couple would be good for you," Sally explained.

"Okay, I can do that. Can I ask them to help me build the second crows nest?" Axe asked with hopeful eyes. Though he would never admit it, Ace got lonely from time to time. Most other kids his age didn't like socializing with him. Maybe it was because he was much stronger than them.

"Sure, just make sure they don't get hurt." Sally said. "So what are you gonna do for the rest of the day? It's still visiting hours you know?" Sally understood that Ace had no desire to be adopted, otherwise she may have done it a while ago.

"First, I'm gonna run to the kitchen and grab something to eat. Then I'll just hang out on the roof until visiting hours end." Ace went towards the kitchen, leaving Sally alone in his room. She smiled when she saw the hat lying on his desk.

 **...The next day, around 2 PM,,,**

"Dad, Ruby's trying to eat the sugar again," Yang complained as she held Ruby away from the bag of sugar for the third time since they started.

"Ruby I told you. No sugar! We need that for Ace's surprise." Taiyang gently scolded. Ruby calmed down, apologized, and went back to mixing the flour and eggs. Taiyang was wearing an apron and preparing the oven. Yang had her hair in a high ponytail to keep it out of the batter she was kneading.

"So how many of these are we making?" Yang asked while looking at her father.

"Only a few dozen or so, we don't want to be waste- Damn it Ruby! I told you to stay out of the sugar!" Taiyang yelled while looking at his daughter, who currently had handful of sugar raised halfway to her mouth.

"Sorry, it's just so sweet!" Ruby said, trying to defend her actions. Taiyang grabbed the bag of sugar out of Ruby's hand and placed it near him. Ruby discreetly ate the handful of sugar she had. It was only a handful of sugar. What could go wrong?

 **...15 minutes later…**

"...and don't come back until you come off your sugar high!" Taiyang yelled as he slammed the door shut on Ruby's bedroom. He sighed as he made his way to the kitchen. It was covered in flour from when Ruby had thrown it at the ceiling fan because she, "Wanted it to snow." On the left wall was a mess of egg yolk from when Ruby had tried to spell her name by throwing eggs at the wall. It had taken all of Taiyang's strength to keep Yang from beating her sister when Ruby had squirted strawberry icing on Yang's hair, yelling, "Strawberry sunrise, hold the ice!" while doing it. Taiyang had to admit that was was actually pretty funny..Yang was currently trying to shower the icing away. Taiyang sighed as he started to clean up Ruby's rampage. He really needed to do something about Ruby's sugar problem

 **...Rose/Xiao Long residence, 6:03PM…**

Ace knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. He heard footsteps. Yang opened the door. Was it just Ace, or did her hair have the slightest tint of red?

"Oh hey Ace, foods almost ready. Come on in," Yang said while walking away. Ace entered and closed the door. He made his way to the living room where Ruby and Yang were playing some video game.

"Hi Ace!" Ruby said while pausing the game. She looked at Ace,and he could have sworn he saw bits of flour in her hair.

"Hey Ruby. What are you girls playing?" Ace asked. From the looks of it, it was some form of fighting game. Ruby gasped.

"You've never heard of Kung Fu Ultimate Ninja Death Battle!?" Ruby asked in disbelief.

"No, should I have?" Ace said, a little confused. Ruby got up and forced Ace to sit next toYang. She placed a controller in his hand, and unpaused the game.

"Play," was all she said. Ace looked down at the controller in confusion. He considered telling Ruby he'd rather not, but the stern expression she had shut him up. Ace began playing against Yang. Considering he had never played the game, suffice to say Ace got wrecked, horribly. Yang was more than willing to rub it in his face.

"Wow, 16 losses and 0 wins. I thought Ruby was bad, but you're horrible." Yang said as she beat Ace again. Her character did a small victory animation where he took out a wooden log and snapped it with his knee.

"I can do that," Ace said with a bored expression. Yang and Ruby looked at him in surprise.

"No way, I call bull." Yang said, disbelief written all over her face. Ruby, however, was more than willing to believe him.

"Really?" Ruby asked. "Can you show me!?" Ruby asked, clearly excited. Ace smiled at her reaction.

"You have a log for me to break?" Ace asked. He was immediately hauled to his feet by Ruby and was dragged across the room.

"We have firewood in the back!" was all Ruby said before dragging Ace out the back door. Yang got up and quickly followed them.

"I gotta see this." When she got outside, she saw Ruby holding out a log to Ace, jumping up and down in excitement and impatience. Ace smiled and took the log. He tensed as he got ready to break the log. He brought the log down on his knee, and the log snapped in two! Yang's eyes were big as saucers. Ruby immediately produced another log.

"Again!" Ace complied and broke that one too. Ruby brought him another one. Ace was about to break it when Yang interrupted him.

"Ace, have you had your aura unlocked?" Yang asked as she tried to find a reason as to why this six year old was so strong.

"You know they don't do that until you're thirteen." Ace said. By "they," he referred to the professors at Signal Academy.

"Then how are you so strong!?" Yang asked in disbelief.

"I dunno. I just always have been." Ace said, doing his best to explain his strength. Unknown to the group of children, two people were watching them from the second story window of the house.

"You know, when you told me that some six year old kid had killed a Beowolf, albeit a young and small one, I thought for sure you were pulling pulling my leg," the first stranger paused while taking a swig of presumably alcohol from his flask. "Kind of would have preferred if this was a joke. Now I have to to interrogate him and see if he could be a threat."

"Do you really have to do that?" The second stranger asked.

"You know Ozpin would want to hear about this Taiyang," the stranger said, taking another swig from his flask.

"Since when do you care about what Ozpin would want Qrow?" Taiyang asked his now named teammate.

"I may act like I couldn't give two shits about what I do, but I actually take my job very seriously. You said he broke his ribs yesterday?" Qrow asked, looking down at Ace, who was doing push ups with Ruby sitting on top of him.

"Yep."

"Then how the Hell is he doing this without collapsing in pain?" Qrow asked.

"Either he has a huge healing factor, or he has really high pain tolerance, or maybe both. I'm not sure."

"And you say he lives at Patch Orphanage?"

"That is what I said."

"I'll have to question the people there too." Qrow said with a sigh. "More work, just what I wanted. Shouldn't you be calling them inside for dinner?" Qrow asked. Not bothering to wait for an answer, Qrow walked out of the room. "Never mind, I'll do it myself."

 **...Back Outside…**

"I don't mean to spoil the fun," Ace said, fatigue clear in his voice, "but my ribs are really starting to hurt. Could we end this now?"

"Five more and then you can stop," said Yang with a grin. Ace was currently being forced to do one handed push ups with both Yang and Ruby on him. Ace groaned. Normally, he could have gone for much longer, but his still healing ribs severely limited what he could do. No one noticed Qrow walking up to them.

"Is this how you treat boys you like?" Qrow asked with a mischievous smirk. Yang blushed and got off Ace. Ruby didn't understand what Qrow was implying, so she didn't get off Ace.

"Oh hey uncle Qrow! Of course I like Ace. He's really nice and cool." Ruby said with an innocent smile. Knowing Ruby was a dead end as far as reactions go, Qrow turned his attention to the boy under her.

"What kid, no reaction?" Qrow asked.

"Sorry, but right now I'm focusing on not falling with Ruby on top of me." Ace said, sweat starting to form on his head. "Can you get off me now Ruby? I did five more push ups like Yang asked."

"Oh right, sorry Ace," Ruby said as she got off of him. Ace got up and rolled his shoulders, sighing in relief.

"What do you want Uncle Qrow?" Yang asked, her blush having mostly receded at this point.

"Your dad says that dinner is ready." They all walked inside and had dinner. Taiyang was actually a really good cook, as evidenced by the Fettucini Alfredo pasta he made. Ace ate a surprising amount of pasta for a six year old. Qrow reasoned that it probably had something to do with his strength and metabolism.

After dinner, Taiyang told Ace to wait in the living room while he, Yang, and Ruby went to get something. Qrow decided to wait with him. He wanted to use those few free minutes to start asking him stuff.

"So Ace, Taiyang tells me you're an orphan. Do you have the slightest idea who your parents are?"

"No sir," Ace replied honestly.

"Call me Qrow. I saw what you did outside. Pretty impressive for a kid. You always had that kind of strength?"

"As long as I can remember." Ace said, a little uncomfortable at the questions Qrow was asking. Before the conversation could continue, Taiyang walked out with Ruby and Yang. Ruby was obviously excited, while Yang seemed uncomfortable.

"Thank you Ace!" Taiyang and Ruby shouted while presenting him with a platter full of… sugar cookies?

"Thanks," Ace was all Ace said as he didn't really know how to respond to being given cookies as a gift.

"Try one!" Ruby said while shoving a cookie in his face. Ace took it and took a closer look at it. It had red velvet frosting and black sprinkles. Shrugging, Ace took a bite of the cookie. He chewed and swallowed. He froze in wonder.

"It's… amazing," Ace said as he bolted down the rest of the cookie and reached for another one. "Why cookies?" Ace couldn't help but ask.

"Cookies are good for any occasion. Each cookie has a specific meaning and usage, kind of like roses." Ruby said with a smile. Ace looked at Qrow.

"Is she serious?" Ace asked the hunter.

"You have no idea. Remind me to tell you about the time when Taiyang and Ruby ranted for fifteen minutes straight on why bringing snickerdoodles to a barbecue was 'Aesthetically insensitive.'" Qrow said. Ace shrugged and grabbed another cookie. By now, everyone except Yang had grabbed a cookie.

"What do sugar cookies represent?" Ace asked the cookie aficionados.

"Two things actually," Taiyang said as he stopped eating his cookie. "The first is gratitude. The second is apology." Taiyang said while sparing a quick glance at Yang. She was nervously tapping her foot and hiding something behind her.

"I get gratitude, but why apology?" Ace asked. Someone tapped his shoulder. Ace turned and saw Yang holding out a sugar cookie. This one was different from the others. This one had orange and red frosting along with yellow sprinkles. Confused, Ace took the cookie.

"Sorry," Yang mumbled while looking away.

"For what?"

"You know, for punching you in the face a lot and being mean to you." Yang said. Ace looked surprised for a moment before smiling.

"You're still hung up on that?" Ace said with a chuckle. Yang paused for a moment, not expecting that answer.

"You're not mad at me?" Ace shook his head. "Does this mean we can be friends?" Ace laughed this time.

"I thought we were already friends." Ace said as he took a bite out of Yang's apology cookie. "Strawberry and orange huh? I like it." Yang sighed in relief that Ace wasn't mad at her. She enjoyed the rest of the evening with her family and newfound friend.

 _ **A/N: There you go, a second chapter. We met Ruby and Yang, saw them invade Ace's tree house, and even had our first fight scene… kind of. There wasn't any fire and stuff as Ace hasn't discovered his powers or memories yet. Don't worry, that will happen next chapter. What else will happen next chapter? Yang and her first search for her mother. I wonder how those two events will correlate. I should probably clear some things up:**_

 _ **Ace has red eyes here. Deal with it.**_

 _ **It's gonna be awhile before we actually get to Beacon Academy and the main storyline. I have a few plans for Ace before that gets there.**_

 _ **There will be time skips from time to time.**_

 _ **Ace doesn't have as big an appetite yet because he hasn't accessed his devil fruit powers yet.**_

 _ **There will be no other One Piece characters here. I am adamant on this.**_

 _ **My academy system: You don't start at Signal Academy until you're 11. You stay for 6 years, then graduate at 17, at which point you head to places to Beacon. Before that, you just go to a regular school. Then, if you want to be a hunter, you go to Signal. Otherwise, you continue in regular school.**_

 _ **'Aces regular school days will rarely be mentioned, if not ever. Nothing interesting would happen there, so i won't write about it.**_

 _ **I will write about Signal a little.**_

 _ **I realize that in canon Yang and Ruby have separate rooms. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything.**_

 _ **There will be no Yaoi or Yuri. There are far too many fics dedicated to white rose and bumblebee and freezer burn etc.**_

 _ **As for actual pairings, I'm undecided. Maybe you people have ideas? Who do you want Ace shipped with? Maybe Yang? Maybe Ruby? Maybe harem. I don't really have any preferences at the moment.**_

 _ **To those of you worried about Ace's power, chill out. He is not going to be some weakling. Once we get to Beacon, I plan on having Ace being able to single handedly take out entire team. Only the top of what we've seen so far would be able to match and beat him. Namely Qrow, Ozpin, Cinder, any maiden, and Salem. We barely know anything about the last one, but come one, she looks pretty badass and powerful. Keep in mind that Ace will not be invincible. If a group of people try hard enough and out strategize him, they could very well be victorious. In summary, Ace will still be powerful. He just won't be able to do the whole fight for 5 days straight thing.**_

 _ **As for Ace and his logia body, I won't give away too much, but I will tell you he can be hurt.**_

 _ **There were some reviews, which I found amazing because, at the time of writing this, it has bearly been 2 days since the story was uploaded.**_

 _ **Hdzulfikar: Sorry that my story doens't interst you. In my defense, a story where Ace kills everyone because of his massive power would not be very enjoyable. At least you took the effort to read this story and leave a review. For that, I thank you.**_

 _ **H2O(I'm just gonna call you that if you don't mind): Thank you for the kind words my friend.**_

 _ **doa570047: I can respect that. A prologue isn't much to go off of. Hopefully you'll grow to really like this story. You liked the name tag thing? To be honest, I was kinda stuck on how to let Ace keep his name for a good reason. Like you said, I didn't want to just have someone name him Ace because reasons. The nametag was the simplest answer I could come up with.**_

 _ **SlurpthisStuff: You are very kind, thank you.**_

 _ **Wolfj: No, sorry.**_

 _ **Silversean24: If by himself you mean his memories and devil fruit powers, don't worry. If you mean you wished that I didn't nerf him, sorry man. I just couldn't make a story where Ace beats everyone interesting. He's still going to be very strong though.**_

 _ **Once again, thank you very much for all the support the story has gotten in just 2 days! You guys are just awesome. Also, kudos to anyone who gets the reference Ruby made when she yelled "Strawberry sunrise, no ice." Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'll see you all next update.**_

 _ **Until then.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 3: Memories, Irony, and a Scary Qrow

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

 **...Beacon Academy, 1 week later…**

"...This is a very interesting development," a man with glasses and silver hair commented. "And you're sure you weren't able to find any history on this boy whatsoever?" The man asked the familiar hunter in front of him.

"Trust me, I was pretty thorough. It's almost like he just appeared out of nowhere one day. The kid has no birth records. I checked, and the name 'Portgas D. Ace' doesn't exist in Vale, Vacuo, or Mistral," the scruffy hunter said.

"What about Atlas?" Ozpin asked.

"I'd rather not give Ironwood any indication on the boy's existence. Knowing him, he would try to take him to Atlas and turn the kid into his own personal soldier." The man said. Judging from Ozpin's reaction, it was clear that both men really didn't like this guy.

"Thank you for telling me about this boy Qrow. I'm gonna have to keep an eye on him. As for you Qrow, I'm going to need you to go and check on how 'she' is doing." Ozpin said. Qrow nodded, knowing what Ozpin meant by "She."

"I may be gone for a few months this time." Qrow warned.

"That's fine." Ozpin said. Qow turned around and started to walk out of Ozpin's office.

"Qrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Now's not the time to look for your sister. Don't let it distract you." Ozpin told Qrow.

"...Yeah," Qrow mumbled as he walked out. Ozpin took a sip out of his coffee cup and sighed.

"Just what are you Ace," Ozpin said to himself.

 **...3 Months Later, The Tree house…**

"I hereby dub thee, Fort RAY!" Ruby yelled as she cut a red ribbon being held by Yang and Ace. They all cheered in celebration. In the months following the children's first meeting, Ace had found himself growing attached to Ruby and Yang. They would spend most of their time at the tree house, playing "Hunters and Huntresses." They liked to think of themselves as team RAY. Whenever Ruby brought along her new puppy Zwei, they became team RAYZ. If they weren't at the tree house or pretending to be hunters, they could be found at the girl's house. They spent most of their time there playing video games. Ace was getting better. He still got wrecked by Yang and Ruby, but he was improving.

Ace later consented to the girls adding their own personalized touches to the treehouse. This included a new paint job courtesy of Yang, and a special basket elevator for Zwei. To be fair, they had to ask Taiyang to put it in for them since it included ropes and pulleys. Ace went ahead and created a new team RAY flag to hang up on one of the crows nest.

"Now all that's left is the sign," Ace said as he gave Yang a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. It's supposed to be ironic," Yang said as she placed a sign in front of the tree that read "Fort RAY. KEEP OUT!"

"Now no one will enter our tree house!" Yelled Ruby. Yang chuckled at her sister's excitement.

"Well what're we waiting for? Let's go up top and announce the completion of fort RAY to the world." Yang said as she made her way to the rope ladder.

"We'll catch up, Ace and I just want to take one more lap around the treehouse," Ruby said as Ace nodded in agreement. Yang shrugged and made her way up.

"Don't take too long," was all she said. Once she made sure that Yang was out of earshot, Ruby focused her attention on Ace.

"You know the plan right?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ace asked in confusion.

"There's been a slight change. We're going to need you to distract Yang for an hour."

"Alright, shouldn't be too hard, but why?" Ace said as he tilted his head in confusion.

"The pyrotechnics guy called dad and said he was going to be late. With the time it takes to unload all the equipment, he won't be set up by the time Yang was supposed to be home. That's why we need you to keep her busy until then." Ruby explained with a sigh.

"No big deal. So you only need an hour right?" Ace asked. Ruby nodded. "I guess I could think of something for us to do," Ace said with a mischievous smile.

"No antagonizing the police," Ruby said with an exasperated tone. Ace immediately pouted and groaned.

"You're no fun."

"We wouldn't want Yang getting arrested on her birthday would we? Besides, why do you annoy cops anyway?"

"I only annoy the bad ones. You know, the ones that discriminate and stuff," Ace said defensively.

"How do you keep track?" Ruby shot back while crossing her arms.

"I have a list. It helps that they have nametags." Ace said. Any further conversation was cut short when Yang appeared.

"What's taking you guys so long? Hurry up!" Yang said as she disappeared into the tree house again. Ace and Ruby made their way inside. Before entering they had a last exchange.

"What time should I show up?" Ace asked.

'"Around five. Don't come back until after six." Ruby said quickly before going inside. Ace followed soon after.

 **...The Next Day, 5:02 PM…**

"So where are we going?" Yang asked Ace as they made their way down a street full of restaurants.

"We're going to get a bite to eat." Ace said with a suspicious smirk.

"I didn't bring any money with me Ace," Yang informed the red eyed boy.

"That's fine." Ace paused as he looked through the window of a diner he went to a few times. He smiled when he saw that none of the staff would recognize him. "Follow me." Ace said as he went inside. Yang followed him inside and they were situated at a table.

 **...Back At The Rose/Xiao Long residence…**

"Dad, how many fireworks did you order?" Ruby asked as she watched the pyrotechnics guy unload box after box of the stuff.

"All of them," Taiyang said with a crazed grin. He enjoyed watching stuff blow up just as much as Yang.

 **...The Diner, 5:28 PM…**

"So you ready to leave?" Ace asked as he drank the last of his water. Yang nodded in agreement. "Let's go," Ace said as he got up.

"But you didn't pay," Yang observed in confusion. Ace grinned in amusement.

"That's the fun part," Ace paused as he saw the manager come out of the kitchen. "Uh oh, we better go," Ace said as he grabbed Yang's arm and started backing towards the door. Unfortunately for them, the manager noticed them before they could leave.

"It's that damn kid again!" He yelled in the middle of the diner. Ace and Yang bolted out the door as the manager started chasing them. Yang was very confused as to why she was running. She looked at Ace who was smiling in excitement.

"Why are we running!?" Yang yelled as they cut through an alley. She looked back and saw that the manager was still chasing them. "And why is he still chasing us!?"

"Explain later!" Was all Ace said as he led Yang down another alley. Yang followed him, slowly growing to enjoy the chase more and more. A couple of turns later she was laughing with Ace. That laughter soon died out when they reached a dead end. Behind them they could hear the manager catching up.

"Ace, what do we do?" Yang asked, hoping that her friend would have some sort of solution. Ace calmly looked around for an avenue of escape. He grinned when he spotted a fire escape ladder about nine feet above them. Without warning he grabbed Yang by her waist with one of his hands,

"Ace what're you doing?" Yang asked.

"Hold on," was all he said before jumping into the air and reaching for the lowest bar of the fire escape ladder. Yang gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was about to tell Ace off for scaring her like that, but Ace made a "shhh," sound. Confused, she looked down and saw the manager right beneath them. He was looking around, clearly confused.

"I swear I saw that little bastard run in here." He told himself as he left the alley. Ace waited a few more seconds before letting go of the ladder. Yang gasped again as Ace landed on the ground with a small tap.

"Alright, I think we're good." Ace said as he brushed his hands together. "You have questions?" Ace asked Yang.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not do it in the middle of a dark alley," Yang said as she walked out of said alley. Once they were walking down a well lit sidewalk, Yang finallly voiced her questions.

"What was that?"

"Dine and Dash," Ace answered.

"You've done it before?"

"Yep."

"Why?" Yang asked.

"It just feels right. Plus it's really fun." Ace said with a chuckle.

"You realize the manager can just call the cops on you?" Yang asked.

"I'm six years old. What are they gonna do?" Ace said. Yang had to admit that he did have a good point. "Besides, the guy isn't gonna call the cops." Ace said with certainty.

"I don't follow," Yang said, her confusion very evident on her face.

"I've done it so many times at his diner that at this point it's a game. If he gives in and calls the cops, then I win, and he knows that." Ace said. Yang mulled over what Ace had just said.

"You know, your oddly perceptive for a six year old." Yang finally said. Ace laughed a little. He looked at a billboard that had the time and temperature on it. Ace saw that it was 5:42. On an unrelated note, it was a pleasant 18 degrees celsius. Ace quickly estimated the time it would take to walk to Yang's home and decided that it was okay for them to leave.

"Come on Yang, It's getting late. I'll take you home." Ace didn't even give her a chance to complain. He grabbed her wrist and started dragging her home.

"I hope they're all set up," Ace muttered quietly so Yang wouldn't hear him.

 **...Rose/Xiao Long Residence…**

"I think it looks pretty good," Taiyang said to no one in particular while he admired the scene before him. He really did do a good job on the party decorations. To add to that, the pyrotechnics guy was all set up. What he considered his greatest achievement however was that he had finally found a way to temporarily deal with Ruby's sugar hype.

Sure he had lost hope for the party when he had found Ruby drinking punch with a disgusting amount of sugar in it. He'll even admit that he cried a little at the thought of Ruby destroying his hard work. That didn't happen though. Before her rampage could begin, she found a ball of yarn. As it turns out, Ruby is a huge fan of balls of yarn when she is on a sugar high, kind of like a cat. When she found it, all her attention went to playing with it. Once her high went down, she quickly lost interest and discarded the yarn. She didn't see Taiyang discreetly take it and put it away forsafe keeping.

Now all he had to do was wait for Ace to bring his daughter home.

 **...6:03 PM, Outside The Rose/Xiao Long residence…**

"I actually had a good time Ace. C'mon, let's go inside and play Kung Fu Ultimate Ninja Death Battle. I'll even go easy on you," Yang said with a teasing smile. She didn't see Ace trying to hide a suspicious smirk. When she opened the door, she found that it was all dark. Confused, she turned on the lights.

"SURPRISE!" Taiyang, Ruby, and Ace yelled at the top off their lungs. The fact that Ace had screamed right into her ear had legitimately startled the girl, so she did what was natural. She swung at the nearest person. This just so happened to be Ace.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Yang kept repeating as she looked at Ace, who was clutching his cheek with an annoyed look on his face. Taiyang and Ruby had blank looks on their faces.

"Is this going to be a recurring thing now?" Ace asked to himself. Sure the punch hadn't really hurt, but it was still annoying. "Well happy birthday Yang," Ace said as his annoyed look turned into an amused one.

"Thanks buddy!" Yang said while throwing her arm around his neck. She was quickly glomped by Ruby and Taiyang, each saying their own happy birthday. "You know, in hindsight it was a lttle strange how none of you congratulated me earlier." Yang said with a smile. What followed was a pleasant evening of games, cake, fun, and a very copious amount of fireworks. So much that a police officer was called in.

"...So as you can see, we had it all under control." Taiyang and the pyrotechnics guy explained to Officer Richard. Ace, Yang, and Ruby were in the kitchen polishing off the rest of the ice cream and waiting for Taiyang to return so they could continue their session of Remnant the Game.

"What is taking so long?" Ace said as he got up and walked towards the door. "Hey Taiyang you okay he-" Ace stopped mid-sentence when he got a look at the officer. He immediately scowled. Judging from the scowl the officer was giving him, it seemed that the feeling was mutual.

"Ace."

"Dick." Ace said, his scowl turning into an annoying smirk. Taiyang gaped at him.

"What the hell Ace!? Don't insult the Officer like that!" Taiyang practically yelled. This got the attention of Yang and Ruby, which caused them to come outside,

"I haven't insulted him Taiyang," Ace said, his smirk growing a little. Taiyang tilted his head in confusion.

"Dick is a nickname for Richard," the pyrotechnics guy said. "Though based on the tone of voice and the scowls these two are giving each other, I'd say freckle face was insulting him without actually insulting him," Pyrotechnics guy astutely observed, Taiyang looked at him in surprise.

"You sure seem to know a lot about this, pyrotechnics guy," Taiyang said, ignoring the faces Ace was now making at the cop. Pyrotechnics guy looked annoyed at what Taiyang had called him.

"I have a name you know. It's Barry, and the reason I know about this stuff is that I have a degree in rhetoric and logic," the now named Barry said. Taiyang was tempted to ask Barry how he got stuck working as a pyrotechnics entertainer at children's parties, but he refrained as he was pretty sure that would open up a can of worms he didn't need opened at the moment.

"Just give me a reason to bring you in you little prick." Richard growled at Ace.

"You're not gonna get that reason though, which must frustrate you so much each time you see me." Ace said with a cheshire cat grin. Taiyang openly gaped at Ace. Was this kid seriously playing mind games with a cop? The cop looked like he was about to explode with barely controlled rage. Yang and a wide eyed Ruby took a couple steps back in case anything happened.

"I'll get you on of these days you smug bastard," the cop darkly growled as he turned away from them, having decided to get out of there before he did something he might regret. Ace's response was to give an even bigger smirk.

"Dream on Dick," Ace said before going back inside the house. Taiyang looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. He composed himself as best as he could before going after Ace. Yang and Ruby followed their dad.

"Ace?" Taiyang said, oddly calm and collected. Ace was sitting on the couch while eating another slice of cake.

"Yeah?"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Taiyang screeched at the top of his voice.

"The thing with the cop? I do that to every cop I don't like. That particular cop had arrested a faunus for no reason. He wasn't gentle when apprehending the poor fella either. After that, he made my list." Ace explained. Taiyang calmed down a little when he heard Ace's motives.

"How many cops are on your 'list?'" Taiyang asked.

"Only five. Patch has a really honest and nice police force for the most part," Ace said with a smile. It was true. When compared to places like Atlas, Patch had a very considerate and respectable police force. Taiyang sighed. Even if his intentions were good, Ace was eventually going to get hurt doing this. He had to get Ace to stop. Even if he wasn't the boy's father, he didn't like the idea of having to tell his daughters that Ace had been arrested, or worse, killed.

"Listen Ace, I know that you do this for a good reason, but It's gotta stop." Ace was about to protest when Taiyang held his hand up. "You're going to push things too far one day and get hurt." Taiyang said with a sigh. Yang and Ruby stood awkwardly to the side, unsure of what to do.

"Should we leave?" Ruby whispered to her sister.

"No, I feel like this is important." Yang whispered back. For those wondering, Barry had decided to go around the house to pack up his stuff when he heard the direction the conversation had taken.

"So I should just let those corrupted idiots off the hook?" Ace shot back,

"There are better ways to get back at them. Listen to me Ace, right now you're a child. You can get away with a lot of stuff and get off with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. But what about when you're older? What then? They'll be able to do bad things to you. How do you think Yang and Ruby would feel?" Taiyang said as he pointed to the two sisters. Ace seemed conflicted. He didn't like the idea of leaving corrupt law enforcement to do bad things, but he also didn't want to make the two sisters worried for his well being. Finally, he let out a sigh.

"All right, I'll stop." He glumly said. Taiyang nodded in satisfaction. He then turned around and walked to the kitchen.

"I do believe we were in the middle of an intense session of Remnant the game." He said. The three kids followed soon after.

"Why does government and authority have to be such a pain?" He asked to himself. They spent the last couple hours they had having fun, the earlier conversation having been largely forgotten. The highlight of the evening was probably Yang and Ace dancing to various songs in order to get a high score on their dancing simulator game. It took awhile, but they did get the high score.

Yang was grinning like an idiot throughout the entire thing.

 **...2 Months Later…**

The next couple of months had had a few noteworthy events. Qrow had come back from his mission, Ace had turned seven, and Ruby had turned five. However, these events were overshadowed by something very important. Something that forever changed the life of a child named Portgas D. Ace.

 **...Rose/Xiao Long Residence…**

Qrow had come by to visit the girls and give Taiyang some very important news. So important that the girls had to go to their rooms. Yang, being the mischievous child that she is, did not listen and pressed her ear against the door to Taiyang's room. She could hear what Qrow and her father were talking about.

"... so she was here recently?" Taiyang asked, his voice taking on an uncharacteristically grim tone.

"What I found seems to confirm that Raven was here." Qrow said in a serious voice. In front of him was a small box full of papers. They didn't see the shocked yet determined look on Yang's face. Not bothering to hear the rest of the conversation, Yang left to go pack supplies. Had she stayed just a few seconds longer, she could have avoided making one of the biggest mistakes of her life.

"I already checked it out though, It's a dead end." Qrow said. Taiyang nodded, not very surprised.

 **...6:00 AM, Rose/Xiao Long Residence…**

Yang quietly entered the guest bedroom Qrow was staying in. She made sure to avoid several bottles of alcohol he and Taiyang had partaken in following their conversation. Yang saw it. There on the desk were the clues to find their mother. Before now, she had never payed much attention to finding her. She was realistic about it. Where would a seven year old even start?

Now though, the clues were right in front of her. She could take them, find her mother, and be back before Qrow or her dad would wake up. Judging from the amount of bottles on the floor, they wouldn't be waking up for awhile. She looked through the contents of the box and found a map. She saw a spot marked far into the woods, farther than even Ace had ever gone. That didn't bother her though. Nothing would stand before her and her mother now.

She took the map and made her way outside. Ruby was there waiting for her next to a small red wagon of supplies. Wordlessly, Yang pulled the cart down the road, Ruby following. The sun hadn't even risen when they made it out of town and onto one of the trails going through the woods.

They couldn't of been walking for more than half and hour when they ran into Ace. He was sitting on a tree branch. He looked just as surprised as the two girls.

"What're you girls doing up so early?" He questioned as he jumped off the tree branch. Yang absentmindedly noticed that he had his Bo staff with him.

"I could ask you the same thing," Yang shot back. Was it just Ace or was Yang being a bit more abrasive than usual. He decided it was just him.

"I always wake up early. Visiting hours start at 6:30." Ac explained. "What about you?" Yang seemed torn. Ace was one of her best friends. She knew she could trust him with almost anything. This was different though, she was going to dangerous lengths to find her mother. Finally, friendship won out over caution and Yang explained everything. She showed him the map too.

"None of us have ever gone out that far before Yang," Ace informed them. "It could be very dangerous. You sure you want to go?" Ace asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Yes I'm sure," Yang snapped back, her patience finally running out. "If all you're gonna do is tell me I shouldn't go, then move," she said as she shoved past Ace. Ruby looked at him apologetically before following her sister. Ace watched them walk before sighing.

"Hey wait up," Ace called. Yang stopped and looked back at Ace. "If I can't keep you from doing dangerous things, then I can at least make sure you're as safe as possible," Ace said with a grin as he quoted what Sally had told him when she had gotten him his Bo staff. Yang smiled a little before waking on, this time with Ace in tow.

The journey was long and arduous, taking several hours for the children to reach their destination. Unknown to the group of children was that a certain visitor had decided to wake up a few minutes before hand.

 **...11:35 AM, Rose/Xiao Long residence…**

"I'm never drinking again," Qrow said to himself as he reentered his room. He had gotten up for a glass of water and a couple of aspirin. He halted when he saw his box on it's side with all the papers scattered over the desk. He quickly looked through them and found that the map was missing. He ran out of his bedroom to the one that was the girl's. He opened it and saw that the beds were empty.

"Shit," was all he said as he ran to his room and grabbed his weapon. His hangover was forgotten as he went as fast as he could after the girls. He didn't need the map as he had already memorized it.

 **...12:13, With The Children...**

"So what are we looking at?" Ace asked as they stared at the old rickety cabin that was at the end of their journey. Ruby was just as confused as Ace. Yang was more hurt than surprised.

"But… Uncle Qrow said…" Yang stuttered. Seeing that her sister was hurting, Ruby hugged her. Ace was about to place his hand on her shoulder when a very familiar noise was heard. One that none of them had wanted to hear for a long time. It was the low, guttural growl of Grimm. Several Beowolves emerged from the tree lines, these ones radically different from the one Ace had killed.

These were full grown Grimm. Not only did they tower over the children, these ones had those horrid bone protrusions all over their body. Ace knew they were in deep trouble. Maybe, and that was a big maybe, he could kill one. The problem was that there were at least six Grimm visible. Who knew how many could be hiding behind the tree line. That didn't stop him from placing himself between the Grimm and girls.

"Stay behind me," he growled as the Grimm came closer. Ruby and Yang were wide eyed with fear. They knew Ace was strong, but they also knew he couldn't take on six fully grown Grimm. Ace weighed his options. He couldn't win, he knew that much, but maybe he could stall them long enough for Yag and Ruby to get a good head start at running away.

"Yang,Ruby, when I say go, run away." Ace finally said. Ruby looked at him in confusion.

"What about you?"

"I don't run from fights," Ace said with grim determination. Yang realized what Ace was implying.

"Ace you can't!" Yang exclaimed as she tried to hold back her own tears. Ruby finally understood what Ace was going to do. Unlike Yang, she openly cried. Ace made them take a couple more steps backward as the Grimm got closer.

"We don't have time to argue Yang." Ace warned as the Grimm had closed the distance to barely ten meters. Ace glared at them. The Grimm seemed to be unsure of how to proceed. Instead of rushing the humans, they decided to send one of their own to test them. The chosen one snarled and broke into a run.

"Go!" Ace yelled as he charged, not bothering to look back at Yang and Ruby. Though she loathed to do it, Yang had to grab Ruby and run. Otherwise Ace's sacrifice would be in vain.

"Come on Ruby," Yang said through gritted teeth as she picked Ruby up and started running.

"We're just gonna leave Ace!?" Ruby yelled as she tried to fight her sister's grip. Yang tried so hard to keep her voice steady.

"We have to." Yang said, unable to keep her voice from choking up. She dared not look back. She was too afraid of seeing Ace mauled to death. She didn't get far though. Blocking their path were two of the six Grimm. They must have gone around Yang.

"Oh no," Yang said as she started backing away from them. Ace meanwhile was fighting for his life. His Bo staff did almost no damage to the Grimm and It's bone armor. His hands were numb from the vibrations his Bo staff sent through his body every time he hit the white armor. He couldn't block Its attacks as he'd learned the hard way. When he tried, he was sent tumbling through the dirt. He had to resort to dodging to the best of his ability.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was outmatched. The other Grimm would soon realize that he wasn't a threat and rush him. He wouldn't run though. Partly because he never ran from fights, but mostly because he needed to buy time for Yang and Ruby to escape.

"Ace!" Yang yelled as she ran towards him. Ace spared a glance in her direction and cursed when he saw Grimm blocking the way. He saw that his plan was ruined. How would Yang and Ruby escape now? The Beowolf charged at him again, this time opening it's mouth to try and bite Ace's shoulder off. Ace tensed and swung his staff at the Beowolfs open mouth. It snarled in pain as a few of it's teeth had been smashed apart. Ace tried to capitalize and swung his staff at the Grimm's eye. Key word being tried. Before the staff could connect, the Grimm brought its hand up and grabbed the end. Ace tried to pull it away, but even his strength was no match for the grown Grimm. He gulped as he saw the Grimm make a fist. The Grimm delivered a massive jab at Ace's chest. This was different from when the other Beowolf had punched him. This one had those sickening bone protrusions on its fist. Protrusions that made mincemeat of bone and flesh.

Ace was sent flying. He couldn't even cry out because the pain was too much. Most of his ribs had broken. Some had even punctured his lungs. The skin where the bone had connected was gone and bleeding heavily. He would die soon without help. Yang looked on in horror as she saw Ace being punched in their direction. Ruby, who was still being carried by her sister, turned and saw the same thing Yang did. She scrambled off her sister and ran for the broken heap that was Ace.

"ACE!" Both the sisters yelled as they got on their knees and looked down at their best friend. Yang couldn't hold it back anymore. She started sobbing. She sobbed because this was her fault. She sobbed because she wasn't going to be able to protect her sister. She sobbed because her friend lay dying beneath her.

Ace was close to losing consciousness. The pain was too much. He heavily considered just giving up. He wouldn't be in anymore pain than. There was one problem though. He could hear Yang and Ruby crying over him. He couldn't leave them now. They needed him. If he gave up, Yang and Ruby would be killed. He wasn't about to let that happen. He grit his teeth and opened his eyes. He forced himself to his knees, even though that simple movement caused him unimaginable pain. He could practically feel his lungs being flooded with blood.

He stared at the Grimm approaching them. He stared at Yang and Ruby who were looking at him with gazes of fear and concern. He stared down at his own body. From the blood dribbling down his mouth to the cuts on his legs. He stared at it all, his mind devoid of thoughts and emotions. After what felt like ages, though had only been a few seconds, it happened. He snapped.

"GET AWAY FROM US!" Ace yelled as he released a suffocating pressure. Yang and Ruby passed out immediately, followed by all the Grimm. In less than three seconds, the only one conscious was Ace. Something was different though.

Ace remembered everything

He remembered Luffy. He remembered Sabo. He remembered Whitebeard. He remembered his death. Most of all, he remembered the name for what he had done.

For the second time in his existence, Ace had activated his **HAOSHOKU** **HAKI.**

The sudden flood of memories, coupled with his injuries, was too much for Ace. He blacked out,

Qrow ran in a couple second later. What he saw was an out cold Ace surrounded by unconscious Grimm.

 **...Rose/Xiao Long Residence…**

Yang woke up in her own bed. Above her she could hear her sister quietly snoring. Yang was very confused. The last thing she remembered was the Grim attack and Ace.

"Oh god Ace," Yang whispered. She got out of bed and tried walking. Since most of her injuries were bruises and cuts, she was able to walk fine. She opened the door to her room and walked down the hall. She could hear people talking downstairs. She sneakily made her way down stairs. She found her father, Qrow, and some lady wearing a bandana sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. Taiyang immediately noticed her.

"How you feeling Yang?" Taiyang asked as he got up and embraced his daughter.

"I'm fine dad. How're Ruby and Ace?" Yang said as she returned her father's hug. The adults all looked at each other uncomfortably. Yang noticed their look. "Whats going on dad?" She asked her father again. Taiyang didn't really know how to tell her. Qrow noticed his team mates hesitation and decided to do it himself.

"Ruby is going to be fine Yang. She just needs rest. In fact, you both do." Qrow paused to collect his thoughts. "Ace… is in intensive care. We're not sure if he's going to make it." Qrow finally said with a sigh. Yang felt multiple things then. Fear, anger, shock, devastation, but what she felt most was guilt.

"This is all my fault," the blonde girl mumbled. She looked so broken at that moment. Taiyang honestly didn't know what to do. Oh how he wished Summer was still here. She could have fixed this. The woman seemed to sense Taiyang's distress, so she decided to step in.

"Your name is Yang? Do you know who I am?" The lady asked Yang.

"No," Yang said.

"My name is Sally. Ace has told me a lot about you Yang," Sally said with a kind smile. Yang looked at her in confusion.

"How are you being so calm about this? Ace might die!" Yang said. Tears started to form in her eyes again. Sally just smiled again.

"Because I know Ace isn't going to die Yang. I've known that boy his whole life. He doesn't give up easily." Sally said as she tried to reassure Yang. It worked to some extent.

"Come on Yang, I'll take you back to bed," Taiyang said as he led Yang upstairs.

"You really believe that?" Qrow asked Sally once Yang was out of earshot. Sally's smile finally broke, replaced by a desperate frown.

"I have to. I don't want Ace to die."

It was touch and go for a few days. Ace went into heavy surgery frequently. However, as Sally had said, Ace would be fine. He would be stuck in the hospital for a couple of months, and would have a huge scar, but he would be fine.

 **...Patch Hospital, 1 Week Later…**

After slipping in and out of consciousness for the past week, Ace was finally awake enough to think about his situation. Specifically, his memories. His head hurt sometimes when he thought about it, but for the most part he was glad he had them back. So many questions he had were answered. Now he knew why he didn't have any parents. His real ones were long dead. He finally had a reason for his strength. He was both scared and disappointed about finding out that he was even stronger as a child in his previous life. He remembered his meeting with the god Monty.

Perhaps what was most important was that he remembered his devil fruit powers. Even if his chest was heavily bandaged, Ace really wanted to try it out. He didn't have to **HIKEN!** something off the bat. Just a little fire would do.

He brought his finger to his face and turned it into fire. He felt as if he was doing it for both the first and the millionth time. It was weird to say the least. On the bright side, he couldn't help but smile when he realized just how similar his old childhood was to his new one. A lot of his quirks finally made sense when he thought back to his previous life.

"No wonder I don't like government or authority." Ace said to himself. He sighed when he realized that he was going to be in the hospital for awhile. His powers couldn't do much to remedy that.

It wasn't all fun and games though. Ace had remembered a lot of good things, that was true, but he had also remembered all the bad things.

Sabo's death...the battle of Marineford...his death...his father.

It really brought down his mood to have all those memories forced upon him. It didn't help that he was unable to have any visitors and was basically forced to think about his previous life. Hopefully he would be allowed to see people soon.

It would be five more days before Ace was released from intensive care and allowed to have visitors

 **...Patch Hospital, Five Days Later…**

To say that Ruby was excited would be an understatement. Sure, when she'd first found out about Ace she'd been devastated. She actually thought her friend would die. That changed however when they'd been told that his condition had stabilized. She had spent most of yesterday evening making butter cookies, because, according to her, they're the best get well cookies. Now she, her sister, her father, Sally, and uncle Qrow were going to visit him. She happily skipped ahead of everyone else, basket of cookies in hand. She was the spitting image of the fairy tail character she was based off of. Not that she would know that.

Yang didn't share her sister's excitement. Yeah she was relieved that Ace would be okay, but it was her fault he had gotten hurt so severely. She let her desire to find her mother control her, and as a result her friend's rib cage had been practically smashed open.

"Dad?" Yang asked. She needed to tell someone her hesitation.

"Yes?"

"Do you think Ace...would want to see me?" Yang asked. Taiyang nearly rolled his eyes.

"Not this again," Taiyang complained in exasperation, "Yang listen to me: Ace doesn't hate you, nor does he blame you. I honestly doubt he could ever hate you or Ruby." Taiyang smiled when he saw his daughter sigh in relief. She was still nervous, but most of her doubt had been erased.

Any further talk was cut short when they entered the hospital. Qrow asked the receptionist where they could find Ace, and then they made their way to his room. Ruby was positively beaming with happiness.

Even though Taiyang had erased most of her doubt, Yang still felt herself growing more nervous as they drew closer to Ace's room. She was actually having second thoughts when they reached the door to his room. Taiyang seemed to guess what his daughter was feeling, so he placed himself behind her so she couldn't run. Yang gave a half hearted glare at her father before putting all her attention on the door. Qrow opened it, and inside they saw Ace sitting up on his bed.

All of Yang's doubt was replaced by relief the moment she saw him.

Before anyone could stop her, Yang rushed at Ace and trapped him in a heartfelt hug. Ace winced for a moment, his ribs and organs still on the long road to recovery, before placing a hand around Yang's shoulders. He waved at everyone else with his other hand, adopting a lopsided grin while doing so. Ruby quickly propped her basket on a nearby desk before rushing Ace and hugging him as well.

"Me too!" Ruby cheerfully said. Ace chuckled as he placed his arm around Ruby's shoulder. He looked back at the adults.

"Hey guys," Ace said. "Glad you came. You have no idea how bored I was." Qrow chuckled at the sight before him. Ruby had already let Ace go and was unpacking her basket of goodies. Yang, however, did not show any signs of letting Ace go anytime soon. The freckled boy looked down at her. His hospital gown was getting damp around his shoulder.

"Are you crying?" Ace asked, genuinely surprised. The only times he had ever seen her cry were the two Grimm attacks.

"I'm really glad you're okay," Yang said, her voice muffled as it was still pressed against Ace's shoulder. Ace was actually surprised by her reaction. He didn't know he meant so much to Yang. He didn't know what to say. Luckily, Qrow decided to speak up at that moment.

"I know you're glad that your boyfriend is okay, but maybe you should let the adults greet him as well?" Qrow said with an annoying smirk as he saw Yang almost immediately back away from Ace. She glared at Qrow while trying to wipe the blush off her face. Qrow couldn't resist making one more jab at Yang. "Face is getting a little red squirt, sure you aren't sick?"

Ace hadn't gotten what Qrow was implying. Regaining his memories and personality had also given him the obliviousness both he and Luffy suffered from. He turned to Ruby, who had sat herself down on Ace's bed, plate of cookies in hand.

"I don't get it. Yeah I'm a boy and her friend. What's the problem?" he whispered as he watched Yang stick her tongue out at Qrow.

"Beats me. I've been trying to figure it out myself for the last couple of years." Ruby said as she shrugged. To be fair, Ruby wasn't the most knowledgeable source when it came to relationships and innuendos.

"How ya feeling Ace?" Taiyang asked as he walked up to the hospital bed.

"It still hurts from time to time, but I can't complain." Ace said as he smiled at the blonde man. Taiyang took a small breath before talking.

"You saved my daughter's again. Thank you Ace," Taiyang said as he rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't very good at showing gratitude when cookies weren't involved. Speaking of cookies…

"Ace I made you butter cookies." Ruby said as she presented Ace with a plate of the baked treats. Ace grinned as he started eating them.

"Thanks." Ace managed to say through a mouthful of butter cookies. He finally noticed that Sally was with them. He quickly swallowed.

"Hi Sally. Sorry I made you worry," Axe said with a shaky smile. Sally walked up to him and hugged him. She did it gently as she was mindful of his healing body.

"You always make me worry Ace. Why would this be any different?" She said as she tried to hold back her own tears. Ace chuckled a little before returning her hug. The next couple hours or so was spent eating cookies and catching up with their hospitalized friend. Eventually visiting hours had ended and the small group had to leave. Qrow stayed a little longer, claiming that he wanted to talk to Ace in private. Qrow closed the door to make sure they had privacy.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" Ace asked in confusion.

"The Grimm attack. It's weird you know. I was rushing to the sounds of Grimm before hearing a boy yell. Then I felt as if something was trying to overpower my will and knock me unconscious. I fought it off without too much trouble, and kept running towards the Grimm sounds. Only, there were no Grimm sounds. Everything had gone silent. I make it into the clearing and find all the Grimm unconscious along with you and the girls." Qrow paused to stare at Ace. Said boy was was avoiding his gaze.

"I've been keeping an eye on you Ace. I know that it was you who released that pressure that knocked everyone out. As you could probably guess, I have a couple of questions." Ace tensed. "You might not have known this, but I'm one of the primary protectors of this world, so It's my responsibility to recognize potential threats, and right now kid, you're pretty threatening." Qrow said as he actually glared at Ace. The poor boy was legitimately scared. Qrow was never this scary whenever he was around.

"I think you know what hunters do to threats Ace. To be honest, I like you kid. I don't want to off you, but I will if I have to." Qrow said as he walked up to the edge of Ace's bed.

"I'm going to give you one chance to explain yourself. Erase my doubts Ace." Qrow said as he stared down at the freckled boy. Ace didn't know where to begin. He took a few seconds to clear his head.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Ace finally said.

"Kid, this world is full of secrets and mystery. Try me."

"Would you believe that a god called Monty reincarnated me here, and that I'm actually from a different world altogether?" Ace asked as he gave Qrow a frank look. To his credit, Qrow maintained his composure for the most part.

"That would explain why you don't have any birth records. What about the thing you did back there with the Grimm?" Qrow asked, skepticism written all over his face.

"That's called **HAKI.** It's one of the things I can do. When I was reincarnated, I was also given the powers I could do in my former life." Ace stated.

"Why didn't you do that during the first Grimm attack?"

"I didn't regain my powers or memories until the second Grimm attack." Ace said, a lot more at ease now that he could tell someone about his former life.

"Can you do anything else?" Qrow asked.

"I can change my body to be made of fire." Ace said. He noticed Qrow's confused expression. "It would be easier just to show. Can you pass me that scalpel?" Ace asked as he pointed to a tray of doctor tools. Confused, Qrow picked it up and gave it to Ace. The boy casually raised it and brought it down on his hand, causing the blade to come out the other side. Qrow panicked for a second before seeing Ace pull it out and show his hand to Qrow. To the older hunters astonishment, the edges around the wound were flickering with fire. The knife wound filled in soon after.`

"Yeah, that's not normal here." Qrow said. Ace's explanation was starting to make more and more sense. "Alright, you don't seem to be lying. However, I'm still going to be keeping an eye on you, got it?" Ace nodded in response. Seeing that he was done here, Qrow left. "Later kid," was all he said as goodbye. Instead of heading to Taiyang's house, Qrow made his way to the nearest bar. It had been a long day, and he needed a drink.

 **...Beacon Academy, 3 hours later…**

Ozpin put down his scroll with a pensive look on his face. Glynda was sitting in a chair opposite to his desk. Glynda sat patiently. She knew Ozpin would tell her what's on his mind, he just needed time to collect his thoughts.

"Things have just gotten a lot more complicated Glynda." Ozpin finally said.

"How so?" Glynda asked.

"Remember that boy Ace that peaked my interest a few months ago?" Ozpin paused as he saw Glynda nod. "He has peaked it again with a strange story and strange powers." Glynda tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean strange?"

"This boy is apperantly a reincarnation from another world." Ozpin said with a dry chuckle.

"You can't be serious," Glynda said.

"I wish I were joking Glynda. Qrow was there when it happened. He's going back there tomorrow to get the full story." Ozpin said as he rubbed his eyes. "I don't even know what to do about this yet." Ozpin said with a sigh. He usually had a plan for everything, but this was entiely out of left field. "I'm going to need to know the boy's potential capabilities."

"You're going to have someone attack him?" Glynda asked, a little worried where Ozpin was going with this.

"No, nothing like that. Not yet at least. He wants to become a hunter, so he's obviously going to attend Signal Academy. We'll just monitor his time there." Ozpin said. "That said, I'll be having Qrow keep an eye on him whenever he's in the area. Based off what he has told me, this boy could either grow to be a powerful ally, or, should he fall into the wrong hands, a very dangerous enemy." Ozpin said with a very serious glare.

"Should we tell the maidens?" Glynda asked.

"We'll tell them to be on guard. I don't want to bring any unnecessary attention to the boy." Ozpin said.

"What should we do in the meantime?" Glynda asked with a hint of concern. There weren't many people who could cause Ozpin this much stress.

"Right now? Nothing. He is too young to be offered acceptance into Beacon. Until he is old enough to attend Beacon, all we can do is keep an eye on him, and keep Ironwood's eye off of him." Ozpin stated. "Who knows what he would do if he thought the boy was a threat." Ozpin muttered.

 _ **A/N: There ya go. Second chapter. Kudos to those who can spot the chibi RWBY reference(kind of obvious). Ace has his fire stuff and HAKI back and Ozpin's plans just gotten even more complicated.**_

 _ **This chapter is a good example of what I meant by timeskips. They will be happening frequently as Ace grows up. They should stop once we get to Beacon. Until then, expect whole years to be skipped over.**_

 _ **So you guys remember how last chapter I thought Yang and Ruby had separate rooms? Well as it turns out they do share a room and that the bedroom Yang was in at the end of Volume 3 was just a guest bedroom. Well, there go my plans. I was going to do a whole thing where Ruby is staying up late to tinker with Crescent Rose and Yang can't get any sleep as a result. She was going to ask for a separate room and Ruby was going to over react, saying stuff like "She's severing the bonds of sisterhood," and, "Next thing you know she'll want to have her own puppy because she can't be bothered to share with a lonely weapons geek who used to be her friend." Ruby would have gotten over it eventually, but not before eating 3 cups of sugar in Yang's new bedroom and destroying it on purpose, she would have been repeatedly yelling "You made me do this!" while wrecking Yang's stuff. Now I can't though. This is why you pay attention to the details people.**_

 _ **I feel like I need to reiterate this:THERE WILL BE NO OTHER ONE PIECE CHARACTERS IN THIS FIC. I'm sorry if it disappoints you, but I am doing this for two reasons mainly. One, this fic is centered mostly around Ace, and having more OP characters would cause that focus to shift away from him. Ace's reincarnation is supposed to be special, something that is almost never done. Reincarnating more OP characters would kind of detract from the sacredness of the event. The second reason is that it is a precautionary measure. If Monty were to all of a sudden reincarnate more OP characters, what's stopping him from saturating Remnant with Pirates? Pirates that can bust islands and posses broken amounts of speed, strength, endurance, and stamina. This doesn't even take into account the myriad of devil fruit powers that would come along with them. Doesn't convince you? Just add Haki to the mix.**_

 _ **This would kind of make all the RWBY cast obsolete wouldn't it?**_

 _ **Now that my rant is over, let me just say that the amount of support this fic has received in such a short amount of time is mind blowing. To know that so many people approve of my writing is amazing, and a little bit intimidating, but mostly amazing!**_

 _ **I had to make an important decision this chapter regarding Ace and his love life. There were two options here. Either he could be a suave casanova with thirty different girlfriends(exaggeration is obvious, but you get the point) or he becomes a complete blockhead and won't notice a girl's affection even if she screams it in his ear. Both of these were somewhat unappealing to me, so I'm trying to go with some sort of middle ground. What that basically means is that while he won't be as oblivious as Luffy, he is definitely going to be somewhat inept. What this means is that he will eventually notice when a girl likes him, but it will take him some time to realize it. He'll also be kind of like a ladies man without being aware of it. He'll do things that everyone else will see as romantic, but he won't be aware of that. For example, where other may see flirting, he just sees a conversation. Where others might think that bringing a girl flowers is romantic, Ace just thinks that it's a nice thing to do for someone. He could just as easily give flowers to a guy for the sake of cheering that guy up.**_

 _ **After reading over the Draft I noticed that I kind of painted ironwood out to be a villain, which wasn't my intention. If I have made Ironwood out to be a bad guy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. It's just that he strikes me as the kind of guy who would take the most violent, public, dangerous way out. I mean, bringing Atlas' military to Vale? He's not evil, Ozpin is just concerned with how Ironwood may handle Ace's situation.**_

 _ **On an unrelated note, i really do believe Danish butter cookies are the best get well cookies. They are one of my favorite foods of all time.**_

 _ **School has started up, so updates may slow down somewhat.**_

 _ **Hope you enjoyed this. Leave a review if you have the time. It really helps me grow as a writer to know your opinions. I will see you all during the next update.**_

 _ **Until then.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 4: Scars, Timeskips, and Stories

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

 **...2 Days later…**

"... so he was a pirate?" Ozpin asked the hunter in front of him. That hunter was obviously Qrow.

"Yeah, it's complicated, but in his world being a pirate wasn't a bad thing." Qrow said.

"I should have asked you this yesterday, but with all the excitement, It slipped my mind. How _did_ you get Ace to reveal his origins?" Opin asked with a raised eyebrow. Qrow chuckled darkly in response.

"I put on the old ScareQrow bit I used to do. Kid actually thought I was going to kill him," Qrow said as he tried to hold down his laughter. Ozpin gave the vaguely drunk, as Qrow is always somewhat under the influence, a very annoyed look.

"Qrow, you know what you did could have very well traumatized the boy? Based on what you've told me, I believe that, had you simply asked him, the boy would have told you his story, intimidation or not." Ozpin said as he seriously questioned whether or not it was sad that the slightly intoxicated man-child in front of him was actually one of his greatest assets.

"I don't mind that the kid fears me," Qrow said with a shrug of his shoulders. "In fact, I hope he does. It might make him think twice before he tries anything with a certain niece of mine," Qrow said. "What? There's no way in Hell that Taiyang's going to do it himself." Qrow said when he noticed the blank look Ozpin was giving him.

"Qrow, this isn't a joke. I expect you to exercise more caution in the future. Understand?" Ozpin said as his voice took a commanding tone. That, combined with his posture, really showed that anything less than a "Yes," was the wrong answer. Luckily, Qrow was sober, sober being a relative term, enough to understand this.

"Yeah, yeah. I was just trying to have a little fun." Qrow said as he took out his trusty flask and took a swig. Ozpin knew that was about as good as he was going to get from Qrow.

"Going back to our original topic, you put everything you learned from the boy in your report, right?" Ozpin asked.

"Of course I did. Stuffs actually pretty interesting. You know he had a little brother?" Qrow commented.

"No I did not. I'll be sure to look for that in your report." Ozpin said. The hunters spent the next half hour discussing Ace's situation, and, more importantly, what to do about it. Ozpin had had a couple of days to create some form of a plan, and he was ready to put it into action.

"Ace isn't going to like this," Qrow commented upon hearing Ozpin's plan.

"He doesn't have to like it. We can't risk this getting out to the public." Ozpin said. Qrow sighed as he knew he would have to be the one to tell Ace.

"I better go tell him then. Hopefully he hasn't told anyone else yet." Qrow muttered as he stepped out of Ozpin's office.

 **...Later That Day, Patch Hospital…**

"You want me to lie?" Ace asked the hunter in front of him. Based on the scowl he was giving Qrow, Ace was not happy.

"No… well… it's not technically lying. You just can't tell anyone else about your former life." Qrow said with a sigh. Ace narrowed his eyes at the older hunter.

"I don't like keeping secrets Qrow. You realize I would have to lie to Yang and Ruby right?" Ace said with a raised eyebrow.

"I told you, it's not lying if nobody knows." Qrow paused as he processed the second part of Ace's statement. Qrow knew that Ace would have to lie to his nieces. He wasn't happy about it, but he knew they would be safer in the long run if Ace and his origin was kept a secret.

"Do you know why we want this to be kept a secret?" Qrow finally asked, having decided to answer Ace's question with a question. Ace paused. He hadn't really thought about it before Qrow had brought it to his attention. Despite his best efforts, Ace couldn't think of a good answer.

"No." Ace said with a sigh.

"If word got out about your circumstances, you, and anyone even remotely affiliated with you, would be a target. People would find an excuse to try to kill you Ace." Qrow said with a faint grimace. Ace was very surprised by this.

"I haven't done anything to anyone. Why would they want to kill me?" Ace asked with genuine confusion.

"Because you're different kid. Very different. You realize your name alone sets you apart from almost everyone else right?" Qrow asked the former pirate. Now that Ace thought about it, pretty much every kid his age he's met had some name affiliated with some form of color or artistic expression. His own name was radically different. The fact his last name came before his first name was strange enough. Add in the D, and his name got downright alien.

"There are people in this world who, if they were to find out about the circumstances concerning your… birth for lack of a better word, would stop at nothing to try to erase you from existence." Qrow said. Ace clenched his bed sheets so hard that his knuckles turned white. The red eyed boy was all too familiar with being hunted down just because he existed.

"So what? Let them try. They can't kill me," Ace growled in defiance. "I've barely shown you what I can do. Wait until I get out of here and I'll show you what I'm capable of." Ace stated as his fingers started flickering with fire.

"Calm down kid. You're gonna burn the hospital down." Qrow said as he watched Ace's bed sheets start to burn. Ace noticed this and calmed down enough so he wasn't emitting any fire. "I know you can take care of yourself, but what about Yang? Ruby? Sally?" Qrow asked. "If your story gets out, they'll be targeted too."

All of Ace's anger evaporated almost immediately. Ace could take care of himself if anyone ever tried to attack him. He had almost superhuman strength and his fire abilities. Yang and Ruby didn't have either. Once they went to Signal they would have aura and weapons. They would be fine then. Right now though, they were nothing but children.

Then there was Sally. Ace had seen what it was like to be targeted. He had seen the way faunus were treated. Sally was already in enough danger as it was. Ace didn't want to add on to that. As much as Ace loathed to admit it, Qrow had a very good point. It was absurd to think that there would be no negative repercussions if he let everyone know about his past life. It killed him realize that he would have to keep his old life under wraps.

"Will I have to hide my devil fruit powers too?" Ace asked as he hung his head in defeat. Qrow smiled for the first time since he got to the hospital.

"You owe me big time kid. I convinced my boss to let you use your fire attacks whenever you want." Ace sighed in relief. His entire fighting style revolves around his devil fruit. He would have been annoyed if he had to create a new one.

"There's one condition though." Qrow said. "Don't freak out kid. I'm just going to unlock your aura. After that we're gonna play your fire off as your semblance." Qrow said.

"Will I ever be able to tell anyone?" Ace glumly asked his friend. Qrow didn't want to give the boy any false hope, but he didn't like seeing Ace this depressed. The kid always had a smile on his face, and to see him this sad was a little shocking.

"Maybe later in life kid. The decision isn't mine to make." Qrow said. "I have other stuff to do, so let's get this over with." Qrow said as he unlocked Ace's aura. He raised his eyebrow at the amount of aura Ace seemed to have within him. _That's more than usual_. Qrow gave Ace one last look before walking towards the door. He was about to leave when Ace spoke up.

"Qrow?"

"Yeah kid?"

"Do you think it was a... mistake for me to exist here?" Ace asked as he stared down at his hands. Even in a different world, his right to live was apparently up for debate. Qrow stared at the kid for a few seconds. Though Ace hadn't told him every single detail of his life, Qrow was willing to bet that Ace had questioned his own existence before.

"No kid, I don't think you being here is a mistake at all." Qrow said before exiting the room, leaving Ace to consider what he had just said.

… **Later That Night, Rose/Xiao Long Residence…**

"Ah!" Ruby woke up with a small scream, though it was loud enough to wake Yang up. The blonde haired girl looked at the digital clock on the nightstand and saw that it was close to midnight,

"Another nightmare sis?" Yang asked as climbed up to the top bunk. Ruby nodded in agreement. This was the second night in a row she'd been having nightmares. "What was it about?" Yang asked.

"Same as last night, about the Grimm attack." Ruby said as she tried to crawl further in to her covers. Yang felt a pang of guilt at that moment.

"How about I read you a story?" Yang hopefully asked.

"What's the story about?"

"It's about heroes Ruby." Yang said as she retrieved a book from a small bookshelf. She lit the lamp on the nightstand so she would have enough light to read, and sat down next to her sister.

… **2 Days Later, Rose/Xiao Long Residence…**

"You did what?" Taiyang asked his team mate. Qrow took a swig from his flask before shrugging.

"I unlocked the kid's aura." Qrow nonchalantly stated. Tayang openly gaped at Qrow.

"I don't want to know what train wreck of a thought process you went through to come up with that idea." Taiyang stated as he pinched the bridge of his nose. There was a reason you didn't have your aura unlocked until you've spent at least two years at Signal. Giving a child the enhanced physical attributes that came along with aura was just plain irresponsible.

"The kid seems to attract danger Tai. I just wanted to make sure that he would be safe in the future." Qrow said. Taiyang gave a surprised stare at his partner.

"That's… actually a legitimate excuse. An irresponsible, but legitimate excuse." Taiyang admitted. "You realize that the people over at Signal are going to be pissed."

"So what? I piss everyone off." Qrow said as he smirked at former hunter in front of him.

"Besides, with his aura unlocked, the kid'll heal up at a faster rate than usual." Qrow said.

 **...3 months later, the coast…**

Ace took a deep breath of the salty air. Ever since he had regained his memories, Ace had found himself missing the ocean more and more. He was currently standing on a sandy beach, right at the edge of the water. He had been released from the hospital yesterday, and Taiyang had thrown a party to celebrate.

While he had come here to look at the ocean, Ace had other things he wanted to do. Namely,figure out how having his aura unlocked had affected him. For this he had brought his Bo staff along with him. Right now, his aura was active. They don't teach you a lot about aura until you go to Signal, so Ace didn't really know how to use aura. He knew you needed it for dust and your semblance. He also knew it was primarily for defense, but beyond that, his knowledge was virtually nonexistent.

 _No point in waiting_. Ace stuck his left arm out and, with his right arm, swung the Bo staff down on it. He still felt the pain, but, thanks to his aura, there wasn't any damage on his arm.

"Alright, test number two," Ace said as he concentrated on his arm. Small flames flickered at the edge of his arm. Ace nodded in satisfaction and swung his Bo staff at his arm. This time the Bo staff went straight through his arm and severed it. Ace gave the bisected appendage a bored look before his arm regenerated out of fire.'

"Alright, test three," Ace said as he concentrated on his arm. Ace swung his staff at it, and gripped his arm in pain.

"Ow," Ace muttered as he looked back at his arm. A bruise was already forming.

"Guess I can't use my logia body and aura at the same time." Ace said. "Wouldn't have made sense anyways." Ace said with a sigh. _This means I can't use any of my attacks while I have my aura active_.

Ace wasn't very disappointed upon realizing that. He was more comfortable with his logia body anyway. Speaking of logia…

"I can finally test out my attacks," Ace told himself, a huge grin plastered on his face. Flames started to flicker from his fist as he looked out towards the ocean.

 **HIKEN!** Ace shouted as he shoved his fist forwards. His fist turned into a pillar of fire which rocketed out towards the ocean.

"Smaller than I remember." Ace observed as he dissipated the fire. "Then again, Monty did say my abilities would be weaker. I could probably get it bigger with a little training." Ace mused to himself. He had the rest of his life to strengthen his fire, so he wasn't too upset. _I'm gonna need a gun in this world_ , Ace smiled as he figured out which move he wanted to try next.

 **HIGAN!** Ace made pistol shapes with his hands and shot dozens of small fire bullets out into the ocean. Whenever a bullet hit the water a small puff of steam and a hiss was heard.

"Glad that one still works fine." Ace told himself. In a world where pretty much everything doubled as a gun, it was reassuring to have one of your own readily on hand(get it?). Ace paused as he considered which move he wanted to try next.

"I obviously can't use **Dai Enkai: Entei** ," Ace said. He looked at the forest a few meters behind him and somehow knew that if he tried to use that move, he would cause a huge forest fire. Sally would not be happy with him if that happened.

While he considered his next move, Ace spared a glance at the ocean again. _Can I swim_? Ace asked himself. It was a good question. A new body means he might have regained his ability to swim. He raised his sandaled foot and dipped it in the seawater. Ace immediately felt his energy drain and he collapsed to the ground.

"Guess that's a no," Ace joked to himself as he dragged his body away from the water. Once his energy returned to him, Ace got up and dusted sand off of himself. The boy proceeded to try out a couple more moves before calling it quits. He stopped mostly because he had accidentally burned his shirt off when he tried to use **Enkai**.

"Guess I'll have to work on my control," Ace said as he looked at the ashes on the ground that used to be his shirt. He stared down at his chest and gave a little chuckle. The doctors were correct. Ace did have a scar that spread through most of his chest. What Ace found amusing was that the scar looked like a crudely shaped fist. _No one except me and Qrow would know why this is funny_.

Ace yawned and stretched a little. His muscles were still a little sluggish from not being used for so long. He gave one more longing look at the ocean before leaving.

 _It can't be that hard to sail in this world_.

… **1 Month Later, Rose/Xiao Long residence…**

"Kids, it's time for you to go to sleep." Taiyang told the trio of children in the living room. They were having a sleepover and had arranged their sleeping bags into a makeshift triangle. The trio whined a little, but eventually got into their sleeping bags and went to sleep.

They couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour before Ruby woke up.

"Ahh!" Ruby quietly screamed as she sat up. Ace and Yang woke up right after.

"Another nightmare?" Yang groggily asked. Ruby nodded her head in agreement. Ace looked at Yang in confusion.

"She's been having nightmares?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. She's been having them for the last couple of months. They're usually about the Grimm attacks. She didn't have any for a while after I started reading stories to her, but that's not working as well anymore." Yang said with a sigh.

"These nightmares are really starting to get to her Ace. Sometimes she's too scared to go to sleep. I'm gonna go get the story book." Yang said as she got up and made her way upstairs. Ace looked back at Ruby, who was quietly whimpering in her sleeping bag.

"You okay Ruby?" Ace asked his little friend.

"They get really scary," Ruby quietly said. Ace looked at the small girl with concern. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how. If this had been Luffy, Ace just would have told him to toughen it out. Something told him that wouldn't work here though.

"Want to hear a story?" Ace asked as an idea popped into his head. He wasn't sure if it would work, but he didn't have anything else.

"Yang already tells me stories about heroes." Ruby told her friend. Ace grinned as he sat up on his sleeping bag.

"This isn't a story about heroes Ruby. It's a story about pirates, fruit, the ocean, and the pirate king. Most of all, it's a story about three brothers." Ace said. Ruby's attention was peaked upon hearing Ace's description of his story. Seeing that he had Ruby's attention, Ace proceeded to tell Ruby about Luffy and Sabo and Ace. He claimed that the fact their name was the same was just a coincidence. He didn't notice Yang come back down stairs, book in hand. Seeing that Ruby had her full attention on Ace, Yang put her book on the couch and got into her sleeping bag. She proceeded to listen to Ace's story.

The sisters were mesmerized with the world Ace was describing. They laughed when Ace told them about how Luffy had stabbed himself in the face to prove he was tough. They quietly raged at the mountain bandits and their disrespectful nature. They were openly amazed at how Captain Shanks disregarded his own safety to protect his friends. Ruby was dozing off near the end, and, having noticed this, Ace finished the first part of his story. Ruby tiredly protested, but went to sleep when Ace had promised to tell her more of the story soon. Yang, having decided that she was also tired, went to sleep without complaint.

Ruby had her first restful sleep in weeks. Instead of scary nightmares, Ruby dreamt of goofy pirates and special fruit.

Yang fell asleep confident that Ruby's nightmares problems were over.

Ace went to sleep absolutely certain that Qrow would be pissed with him.

 **...4 Years Later, Signal Academy…**

"So this is Signal," a now eleven year old Ace observed. Besides growing taller, Ace had not really changed all that much. He still had his freckles and red eyes. Right now he was wearing a yellow, islander style button up shirt along with a pair of jean shorts. On his hand he had a wristwatch that also doubled as a compass. _It's not a Log Pose, but it'll do_ , was Ace's thoughts when he had acquired the watch. On his feet were moccasin-like shoes. What was most noticeable was the unique hat that hung off the back of his neck with a strap. Now that he had grown a little, Ace found that, with a little adjustment to the strap, he could now comfortably wear his precious hat.

"It looks nice enough," Ace said as he stared at the giant building before him. The blonde girl next to him nodded in agreement.

"Looks a lot bigger up close," the blonde girl, Yang, stated. Both she and Ace were standing side by side outside the entrance to the academy. Yang had grown as well during the last four years. She was roughly Ace's height and had ditched her pigtails a while ago in favor of a single ponytail. Today she was wearing a light red, long sleeve shirt with the words "Achieve Men," written on the front in dark green letters. She had recently become a big fan of the boy band. Under the writing was the Achieve men symbol. On her legs were regular jeans and on her feet were sneakers.

"It feels weird not having Ruby with us." Ace said while looking to his side, as if he expected his little friend to appear at any moment. Ruby had suffered from a mini-breakdown when she realized that her two best friends wouldn't be close by her anymore.

"I know right? Too bad she won't be eligible for another two years." the girl said. "Guess it's just you and me for now, huh Ace?" Yang said with a smile while throwing her arm around the boy's shoulder. The boy chuckled in amusement.

"So what class do we have first?" Ace asked. He was lucky enough to have most of his classes with Yang. Ace suspected that Qrow may or may not have had something to do with that.

"We got… First year History at 8:15." Yang stated as she looked down at her schedule.

"It's 8:09." Ace observed while looking at his wristwatch. The two sparred each other a glance before bolting inside. Now, six minutes was usually more than enough time for someone to leave their belongings at their lockers and then heading to class. The problem was that Ace and Yang didn't know where their lockers and classes were located. They had skipped orientation in favor of spending the day with Ruby, as she would be all by herself for the next two years.

Ace and Yang frantically looked for their lockers. By the time they found them, they had less than four minutes to leave their stuff and find their classroom. Ace, in his hurried state, didn't put in his combination correctly. When he tried to open his locker, he accidently tore the lid off of it's hinges. Ace stared at the broken locker lid in his hand.

"Being really strong can be super annoying sometimes," Ace said while his left eye twitched in irritation. Since their lockers were right next to each other, once again Qrow had pulled some strings, Yang let Ace put his stuff in her locker. Pressed for time, Ace took the locker lid he had broken and bent it in half, he then shoved it into his empty locker space.

Once the whole locker ordeal had been sorted out, the two kids bolted to their class. Being the faster of the two by a wide margin, Ace ran ahead to check each hallway. Any other student who was still going to class found themselves shoved aside as Ace bolted through the hallway.

"It's over here." Ace told Yang while pointing at classroom at the end of the hall. Yang checked Ace's watch and slowed down upon seeing that they still had time to get there. They entered their first class of the day and sat down at a pair of empty desks. After the bell rang, the teacher walked up to the front of the class. He was a middle aged man with slicked back brown hair.

"Hello and welcome to Signal. You may call me Professor Paul. Let's jump right in. Open your textbooks to page 1."

And so began the first day of Signal Academy.

 **...Later That Day…**

Ace walked into one of the few classes he didn't have with Yang. The reason was that this was an aura manipulation class for fourth year students. That is, these students have already had two years of experience using aura. Since Qrow had unlocked his aura four years ago, Ace was already familiar enough with it to qualify for this class. As he looked around, Ace noticed that every person in this class was noticeably bigger than him. His classmates were about three years older than him, so that made sense. He also noticed that the desks were set up in tiers and around an arena.

"I'm sorry, but I think you might have the wrong class." A girl stated as she gave Ace an apologetic smile.

"Nope. I'm supposed to be here." Ace said as he handed the girl his schedule. The girl had a moment of surprise as she realized that Ace was indeed in the right class.

"Sorry, my bad. You must've been really young when your aura was unlocked." The girl remarked before taking her seat. Ace found an empty desk near the front of the class and sat down. The teacher walked in soon after the bell had rung.

"Good evening everyone. I am Professor Caesar, and welco-what is a child doing in my class?" Professor Caesar asked as he stared at Ace. "You must be in the wrong room."

"Nope, I'm supposed to be here." Ace said.

"What is your name, child?" Ace gave the man his full name. The professor quickly checked the school database and scowled at the name that appeared in his roster.

"I told those idiots in administration that I don't tolerate children," he muttered as he looked back at Ace. "Since it seems that you are in the right class, let me get a couple of things straight with you. I don't know who unlocked your aura for you at such a young age, but I will tell you that this is not a daycare. I do not tolerate whining, understood?" Professor Caesar asked as he looked at Ace.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I asked you a question, boy. Answer or face the conseque-"

"..zzz.." Professor Caesar stared at the sleeping boy for a full five seconds, his mind trying to process the fact this boy had fallen asleep in the middle of his lecture. The students around Ace softly laughed and giggled when they realized that the boy was asleep. One particularly loud laugh caused him to wake up.

"What'd I miss?" Ace asked as he stared around the classroom. His eyes finally fell on Professor Caesar, whose face had turned red with rage.

"You dare mock me child?" The professor asked in a low, dark tone.

"I didn't do anything." Ace stated in confusion.

"I saw you fall asleep brat. Do not lie to me." The professor stated as he made his way to his desk. "I think I'm going to personally test your aura capabilities, Ace, so make your way to the arena."

"It's not my fault. I have nar-"

"Now, boy." Professor Caesar said as he stepped into the arena. Ace muttered a few choice words under his breath as he made his way to the arena at the center of the class. Ace had the whole class' undivided attention.

"Seeing as how you haven't created your weapon yet, this will be a hand to hand battle only." Caesar stated as a screen on the wall behind him turned on. On it appeared a picture of the two combatants along with an aura meter for each one.

"This isn't a combat class, so why is it set up like one?" Ace asked as he stared at the screen.

"In order for one to manipulate his or her aura, one must be fighting to do so. While we may spend time going over concepts and theories, most of our time will be focused on improving our aura control through combat." Caesar said as he took off his sports jacket. "I will not go easy on you boy, so you better hope your hand to hand combat is decent." Caesar said as he brought his hands up to his face and made two fists. Ace grinned in preparation. He would show the teacher that he was "decent," in hand to hand combat.

Ace ran at Caesar with surprising speed. The professor was so startled that he couldn't defend against Ace's quick one-two combo followed by a kick to the side. The older hunter was sent skidding to the side a couple of feet. _Maybe this boy is better than I thought_. The older man quickly composed himself and adjusted to the speed Ace had displayed,

This time Caesar was the aggressor. He ran at Ace and sent a jab at the boy's head. Ace ducked under the attack and sent his foot at Caesar's stomach. He caught Ace's foot and tossed him to the side. Ace did a quick flip mid-air and landed on his feet. Ace once again took charge and sped at his teacher. What followed was another brief, yet intense exchange of attacks. Neither combatant landed a very solid hit though, as their attacks were usually dodged or blocked. Both combatants backed off for a moment to regain their bearings.

The other students, meanwhile, were left utterly shocked that this child was exibitng very suprising amounts of strength and speed.

"Impressive. I didn't expect this kind fight from a child." Caesar commented. Ace rubbed the back of his head and chuckled in response, "However, there is still much for you to learn." Caesar stated before he sprinted at Ace with a much faster speed than he had exhibited before. Ace was caught completely off guard and suffered a knee to the chin as punishment. He recovered quickly and attempted to hit his opponents stomach with his elbow. Caesar caught the elbow and threw Ace straight up into the air. Ace did another mid-air flip so that he was facing Caesar. Ace then cocked his hand back and threw a punch as he fell back to the ground.

What Caesar did next completely surprised Ace. He brought both hands up, palms out and created a wall of aura between his hands. Aura wall met Ace's punch. Caesar's aura wall completely overwhelmed Ace and sent him skidding out of the arena.

"What was that?" Ace asked in awe.

"Aura manipulation." was Caesar's simple reply. The class stared at the board, and then back at Ace. If it was possible, they had even more shocked expressions on their faces. On the screen, neither Aceis nor Caesar's had gone down much at all. No one was surprised to see that Caesar still had almost all of his aura. What was shocking was that Ace still had most of his aura even though he was only eleven and had taken hits from a _professor_.

"As much as I would like to continue our brawl, I do have a class to teach, so go ahead and take your seat please Ace." Caesar said as he put his sports jacket back on. Ace shrugged and sat back down. Caesar went on to give a brief outline of how the year would go. The bell rang soon after, and everyone filed out of the classroom. Caesar stayed at his desk, organizing papers.

"Did you get that Qrow?" Caesar asked while still focusing on his papers.

"Yep," came Qrows reply as his face appeared on Caesar's computer screen. "Thanks again for helping me out with this. I really appreciate it," Qrow said as a video recording of Ace's and Caesar's fight came on.

"Don't mention it. I still don't understand why you wanted me to fight the boy," Caesar said.

"I told you. It's Ozpin's orders. That should be reason enough," Qrow said before his face vanished from the computer screen.

"I can certainly see why Ozpin is interested in the boy," Caesar muttered to himself. Said boy was currently walking to his final class of the day, which was another class for fourth year students. Because of his advanced physicality, which had only increased as he grew, coupled with his unnaturally large aura reserves for his age, Ace was put into a combat class for more advanced students until further notice.

"Wonder when they'll let me build a weapon?" Ace asked himself as he stared at the weapons of every other student. He noticed a women older than all the students by a few years walk up to him.

"Are you Ace?" The lady asked. Ace nodded in agreement. "I'm Professor Kim. I'll be teaching this combat class. I have to say, Qrow spoke rather highly of you. He's confident that you'll excel at this cass, even without a weapon. I hope you live up to expectations." Kim said with a good natured smile. Ace didn't bother mentioning that he was far more comfortable fighting without a weapon now that he had his devil fruit.

"Your records also show that you've unlocked your semblance?" Kim asked. Ace did his best not to let his nervousness show. He wasn't sure how the aura meter on the screen would react if he switched over to his logia body,

"Yeah, just a little while after my aura got unlocked." Ace said as he adopted what he hoped was a convincing smile. Kim seemed to buy it. She asked Ace to take his seat as class was about to start. Ace did as he was told. He didn't notice the confused stares he was getting from some of the other students.

"Isn't he a little young to be here?" One boy whispered to his friend. The other boy just so happened to be in Ace's aura manipulation class.

"Dude, trust me when I tell you that age doesn't matter with him." The other boy whispered back. Both boys quieted down as the bell had rung.

"Welcome to combat training class everyone," Kim said as she did a small hand wave. "This class is fairly straightforward, so I won't bother explaining the curriculum. Today I'm going to see where each of you stands compared to the rest of the class. That way I'll know where to help each of you." Kim said as she pressed a button on her computer. Everyone's name immediately appeared in a tournament style bracket.

"We're obviously not going to finish today, so we'll do what's left tomorrow." Kim said. The rest of the class period was spent watching random students fight it out. Ace, being far ahead of most of the other students in terms of ability, dispatched his opponent without too much trouble, even though his opponent had his weapon with him. He spent the rest of the class period watching the other students fight. It's important to remember that these are only fourth year students. They haven't had that much experience using aura. In short, most of them weren't very good fighters yet.

The teacher seemed to know this as she cringed at some of the "fights," that took place. She had her work cut out or her this year.

"Alright, class is about to end. We'll finish up tomorrow." Kim said as she stared at the tournament bracket. Based on what she'd seen, Kim knew that Ace would make it to the finals. Who would be his opponent was a different question altogether. There were one or two students that had stood out among their peers. Maybe they could give Ace a challenge. The bell rang and everyone filed out of her class.

"Standards get lower every year, don't they?" A voice behind Kim asked. She turned around and saw Qrow stroll in through the front door

"You saw the fights?" Kim asked as she gave a dry chuckle.

"I wish I hadn't seen a few of them, like that girl who didn't want to break her nails. Isn't she aware that aura will keep her from breaking anything?" Qrow asked his colleague.

"Not that I don't like talking with you Qrow, but what do you want?" Kim asked as she packed up her bag.

"I want you to record all of Ace's fights." Qrow said. Kim raised her eyebrow at him.

"Ozpin?" She asked.

"Ozpin." Qrow confirmed with a nod of his head. If Ozpin was interested in the boy, then Kim knew something was going on.

"Want to tell me why he wants the boy's fight recordings?"

"You saw the way the kid fought. He's a prodigy if I ever saw one. Ozpin's just scouting out new future students." Qrow smoothly lied. Of course he couldn't tell his fellow professor the truth. Kim nodded.

"That makes sense." Kim said. "You think he's a little too advanced for this class?" Kim asked.

"We can't get him into a more advanced class. Trust me, I tried. Just getting him in here took a lot of persuasion." Qrow said. "You'll get me those recordings?" Qrow asked Kim.

"Yeah, I'll record tomorrow's fight." Kim said.

"Thanks. Well, that's all I came around here for." Qrow said as he walked out of the classroom, not even bothering to say goodbye. He walked by a window and saw Ace meeting up with Yang down in the courtyard.

"So how'd your classes go?" Yang asked her friend.

"I fell asleep in class and got into a fist fight with my teacher." Ace nonchalantly said. Yang chuckled in amusement.

"Classic." The blonde girl muttered with a smile.

"What about your classes?" Ace asked his friend.

"Boring. We didn't even do any actual combat in combat class." Yang complained.

"You guys don't have any aura. Of course they're going to take it easy on you." Ace pointed out.

"Easy for you to say. You didn't have to sit around and listen to a whole bunch of safety rules. You got to go and fight people. I don't know if I could take two years of that. Say, you think you could convince uncle Qrow to unlock my aura?" Yang asked. This wasn't the first time she had asked either. Ever since she found out that Ace had had his aura unlocked, Yang had been dying to have the same done to her.

"If he won't do it when his niece asks him to, what makes you think I would have better luck?" Ace shot back. Yang shrugged in response.

"Why don't you unlock it for me?" Yang asked as a new idea popped into her head.

"Don't know how to. Qrow recited some strange stuff when he unlocked mine, but I can't remember what he said." Ace said in response. Yang's shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"I still don't get why Qrow unlocked yours." Yang complained with a sigh. Ace suppressed a wince. He always felt bad when this was brought up. It reminded him of the secret he was keeping from everyone. Ace didn't respond. The rest of the walk home was filled with silence. They entered Yang's house and were immediately tackled by a nine year old Ruby. The red haired girl hadn't really changed all that much. She was just a slightly taller version of her five year old self. The general consensus was that she would be short for her age, like her mom.

"Take me with you tomorrow!" Ruby said as she refused to let go of her only friends. Yang and Ace looked at each other before turning back to the youngest member of their trio. Frankly, they knew that Ruby would do something like this once they went to Signal.

"Rubes, you know we can't do that." Yang said as she tried to pry her sister's arm off of her.

"What happened? You were completely fine yesterday." Ace asked, though he suspected that he knew the answer.

"I don't have any friends." Ruby said as Yang had her sit down on the couch.

"It's only been one day Ruby." Yang pointed out. "Besides, have you actually tried to make any friends?" Yang asked her sister. Ruby rubbed her arm.

"Well.. not really, but you know how anti-social I am." Ruby pointed out.

"You're going to have to meet new people eventually Ruby." Ace said. Ruby fixed him with a small glare.

"Easy for you to say. I bet you just spent all day with Yang." Ruby said as she crossed her arms. Ace was about to deny that, but, when he thought about it, he and Yang hadn't really bothered meeting anyone during their first day. They really did just hang out with each other. Yang seemed to realize this as well. She exchanged another glance with Ace.

"Fine, you got us there." Yang said.

"See? It's not fair. I don't have anyone that I'm comfortable with." Ruby said as she kicked her legs in frustration. Ace knew that this disagreement could potentially go on for at least half an hour. He wasn't in the mood to go through that, so he quickly thought of a solution that would cut this short.

"How bout we settle this with a bet?" Ace asked.

"What kind of bet?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"If I can make one hundred friends by the end of the week, you can't complain anymore." Ace said. Ruby seemed to consider his offer.

"And if you don't?" Ruby asked.

"I'll get Qrow to let you into Signal." Ace calmly said. Ruby fist pumped in excitement while Yang looked at Ace with worry.

"What are you trying to prove Ace?" Yang asked.

"I'm trying to show Ruby that it isn't hard to make friends." Ace said.

"Those are pretty high stakes for proving a point." Yang warily said as Ruby pranced around the room, already certain of her victory. How could Ace make one hundred people like him in four days? Victory was pretty much hers. Now all she had to do was wait until the end of the week.

… **.Friday afternoon…**

"Wha…? But…how…?" Ruby stuttered as she watched the huge group of people behind Ace wave at her. Ace had a smug look on his face.

"Guess I win Ruby." Ace stated as Ruby looked at him in disbelief. It had actually been very easy to make one hundred kids his age like him. Ace used to be a pirate captain, after all. There was something in him that just made people want to follow him. Add to that the fame he had already accumulated with his combat prowess, and you had a very charismatic and popular eleven year old. Ruby knew when she was beat.

"Fine. I won't complain anymore." Ruby said as she kicked the ground in disappointment.

"Thanks guys. You can leave now." Ace told the mob behind him. They left with smiles on their faces, happy to have been able to help Ace. Yang stood to the side, grinning at her sister. They didn't notice Taiyang walk up the road Ace's group had left through.

"Hey kids. Does anyone want to tell me why there was a mob of kids walking away from my house?" The blonde haired man asked the trio in front of him.

"Just proving a point." Ace said with a smile. Yang snickered in amusement while Ruby sighed again. She glumly walked back inside, Ace and Yang following her.

"Wanna hear more of the story?" Ace asked in an attempt to cheer up Ruby. After a lot of arguing with Qrow, Ace had been allowed to continue telling Ruby his pirate stories as long as the girls thought that it was just fiction. Upon hearing Ace's offer, Ruby's mood did a complete 180.

"Yes please!" Ruby ecstatically said as she grabbed Ace's arm and dragged him to the couch. Yang followed behind, just as eager to hear more of the story.

"This part is about how Ace befriended a giant named Oars Jr." Ace said as he began his tale.

 **... Beacon Academy…**

"Thank you Qrow," Ozpin said as he reviewed Ace's combat recordings. Qrow's face was in the upper left hand corner of Ozpin's computer screen.

"Yeah, you gonna want me to send these to you weekly?" Qrow asked.

"Yes, just send me the week's videos every friday." Ozpin said as he clicked on another one of Ace's fights. Qrow nodded and his face disappeared off the computer screen.

"None of these students seem to be a challenge for you Ace," Ozpin muttered as he cycled through a couple more of Ace's fights. The closest Ace had come to being challenged was in the finals of his class tournament. He ended up fighting a dog faunus. While she did a better job than the other students, it was obvious that Ace was in control during the whole fight, weapon or not.

"I'm going to need to get you a better opponent if I want to see your fire powers." Ozpin said to himself. As of now, he had never actually seen Ace's fire in action. He had hoped that a class of older students would challenge him enough to cause him to use his devil fruit. Obviously, this was not the case. _I've heard that the Mistral tournament has some prodigies of their own._ Ozpin took a sip of his coffee as he got up and left his office.

 **...Atlas…**

"You've finished the schematics?" Ironwood asked.

"Yes, we believe that we've ironed out the imperfections. We are ready to begin the construction process." A thin, scientist said.

"When will she be combat ready?" Ironwood asked the scientist in front of him.

"Combining construction and education, it could take anywhere from three to four years." The scientist said. Ironwood nodded, not at all bothered by the long period of time he would have to wait. He knew what he was asking of his scientists. He knew that they were doing things never done before. Ironwood dismissed the scientist.

"Things are going to get interesting once she's finished." Ironwood said to himself

 _ **A/N: Another update for all you loyal followers. Please excuse the extra wait time. Since I'm doing all AP classes, school has been taking up the majority of my time. I've said this before, but the amount of support this story has gotten in such a short amount of time is absolutely amazing. To know that you all find my writing good enough to give the time of day makes me feel special. Thank you all for your continued support.**_

 _ **On a separate note, bet you all weren't expecting that big of a timeskip. I could have written more about those four years, but, besides character building, which a lot of people find boring, there wouldn't have been much to write about. It would have just felt like filler, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just really need the story to advance right now, and filler would just stall it. The next three or so chapters are going to be going at a slightly faster pace. Most likely each chapter will encompass an entire year. Some relatively major stuff is going to happen in those three years, so be prepared for that. I should warn you ahead of time, it might take a slightly darker turn. Not everyone's life can be sunshine and lollipops.**_

 _ **Now, regarding Ace, aura, and his logia body, I've decided to make them two separate power sources. That is, whenever he's using aura, he can't use his logia body and visa versa. When you think about it, how would having a logia body and aura at the same time even work? Aura takes blows for you while logia just lets those blows pass through you. They're complete opposites in terms of defense. This also means that Ace can't use his fire attacks while he has his aura active. Since most of his attacks are based around turning his body into fire, I thought that this would make more sense. I understand that some like Dai Enkai: Entei are exceptions to the rule, but it's just easier to say that he can't use any fire attacks while his aura is active. So far, Ace hasn't had to use his logia body. This means that Ruby and Yang aren't aware of Ace's fire powers yet. They think he just has aura. Don't worry, they will find out eventually, and it will be epic.**_

 _ **On a similar note, the reason for Qrow unlocking Ace's aura was so that Ace could pass his fire off as his semblance. As to what Ace's semblance will actually be, I don't know. I was hoping that you people would have an idea of what to make make Ace's semblance. Or do you think that he's just fine without his semblance? Tell me your idea/opinion in the review section if you want to.**_

 _ **Now to address another major issue: Ace and his past. If there's one thing I don't like about crossover fics, it's characters who go around and blab their whole story to everyone, and expect no negative repercussions. It just seems absurd to me that someone can tell people who they are, and not expect something bad to come of it. Not everyone is going to be okay with you being from another dimension or something like that. You would become a target to them. I like fanfics where the character realizes this and is more cautious with what he tells people. Now, this problem can also be avoided if the people the character tells can keep a secret. Keep in mind that Yang and Ruby are children. Even if they promise not to tell anyone, they're bound to mess up and tell someone at one point just because they're children. This won't be a problem once they're older, but for now, they are being kept in the dark. They don't know that the story Ace's is telling them is his actual life story. They just think that it's a figment of his imagination.**_

 _ **I may have changed the canon plot just a little here. In canon, Ruby mentions that Yang used to read her books about heroes. She never specified why. Here, I decided that Ruby would have gotten nightmares from the Grimm attack. Yang reads her the book to help stave off the nightmares, and, when that doesn't work, Ace tells her his story. Ruby may or may not develop an urge to be a pirate.**_

 _ **There was another fight scene here that didn't have any fire. Forgive me, I know that you all must be getting restless. Be a little more patient and I promise you that you will be rewarded soon enough. Ace isn't going to stay in Patch forever. He's a wandering soul.**_

 _ **Something that I'm trying to convey is that Ace's life is being monitored closely by Ozpin. Whether it be Qrow giving him weekly reports, or reviewing Ace's combat clips, Ozpin is always watching. Ace isn't aware that he's being monitored so closely. I wonder what his reaction would be if he ever found out...**_

 _ **On another separate note, am I the only one who thinks that Ace would be the most popular kid if he ever went to school? I am also a firm believer that he would wear a lot of islander style shirts.**_

 _ **Now, let me address this story's possible pairings. I've decided that story will officially be AcexYang. That seemed to be the general consensus in the review section. I'm sorry to all you people who wanted Ace to be with someone else. Have no fear, though. I have another project in the works that should hopefully satisfy everybody. As far as this story is concerned though, it's AcexYang. Why so soon, you may ask? If I'm going to do this romance, then I need to set the groundwork of their relationship early on. It's not going to be a big part of the story as of yet. I just need to establish that feelings are developing between the two. In other words, that Yang is starting to like Ace, because we all know Ace isn't going to realize this until far down the line.**_

 _ **With the ship decided, now comes the matter of the ship name. I've already seen a couple ship names thrown around. Burning Dragons and Fire Heart being the two I'm talking about. You guys like these names? I was going to call the ship Ace Of Hearts, but if you prefer one of the other names, then please tell me so. Or if you have your own ship name, feel free to share it. I don't have a preference as of yet.**_

 _ **While I still don't have an official writing schedule, my deepest apologies, I hope to have the next chapter out in a couple of weeks or so. It might come earlier than that, who knows?**_

 _ **Until then.**_


	5. Chapter 5

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 5: A Year In A Day

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

 **...Signal Academy, 1 year later,,,**

"Good to be back," A twelve year old Ace said as he stared at the building in front of him.

"Yep. One more year and I get aura." Yang said in excitement. Both were once again standing side by side as they gazed at the academy. Over the course of the year, both had grown taller. If you measured carefully, you would see that Yang was actually slightly taller than Ace, something the blonde huntress-to-be mentioned very frequently. Of course, Ace still dominated her in terms of physicality. It wasn't even a contest really. Both walked into the building and made their way to their first class, which happened to be weapon mechanics with Qrow. While they wouldn't be making their weapons until next year, it helped to have a good understanding of mechanics before hand.

"Alright, I'm gonna preface this by saying that you should treat your weapon with respect. It's what you're going to rely on when you're out fighting Grimm. I should also tell you that the more weapon forms a weapon has, the more complicated it is to build. Unless you're a mechanical genius, I suggest sticking to one or two forms." Qrow said. Ace already knew that his would be simple. To him, simple was better. Who needs three or four weapon forms when you have one reliable form that gets the job done? Qrow passed out textbooks to the class.

"Don't lose these. They're the only ones you'll get for the whole year." Qrow said as he brought up pictures of various mechanisms on the board. Ace and Yang payed full attention. Partly because this is the kind of stuff they were interested in, but mostly because they wouldn't dare goof off with Qrow as their teacher, Ace especially.

 **...Later That Day…**

Ace walked into a class he didn't have with Yang. Because of his status as a prodigy, Ace was taking more advanced classes this year, which meant he wasn't spending as much time with Yang. This was a combat class for advanced fifth year students. The administration wouldn't put Ace in a higher class. As he took his seat, Ace could hear some students whispering about him. He had developed quite a reputation the previous year.

"Ah, I see that I have the school's resident prodigy in my class," the Professor good naturedly said. "I should warn you, compared to the fodder you fought last year, these students are just as advanced as you. Expect to be challenged." The Professor said. Ace's response was to smile in amusement.

"We'll see about that." Ace said. The teacher chuckled and turned to address the rest of the class.

"My name is Professor Bowie. This is a combat class. There isn't much more to say." Bowie said, garnering a few laughs from the students. "You are all considered advanced by the academy, as such I expect high performance from all of you. I'm sure you are all familiar with the way we find out who is better than who?" The teacher asked. The whole class nodded. They were aware of the classroom wide tournaments that were held in combat class. Ace had dominated his last year. "Well, at the end of the year we will be holding a school wide tournament with the other advanced classes. Only the top four from this class will be able to participate." Bowie paused as he let his students digest what he had just said. "Don't worry if you don't make the top four this time around. We'll be doing our class tournament every month or so, so you can always become top four then. Those who maintain their top four position the longest get to participate." Bowie finished. Ace confidently smiled. _Wonder who I'll be fighting at the end of the year_. Ace thought, already sure of his participation.

The first half of the class was spent watching other students fight. Being an advanced class, these students were much better than the ones Ace fought last year. Ace whistled in amusement as a student finished off his opponent. He gazed at the board and smiled when he saw that it was his turn. He made his way to the arena, where he was greeted by his opponent. Right away, Ace could tell that this girl was some sort of cat faunus. He also saw that she was a couple inches taller than him, but Ace was used to that. Her hair was a dark brown in color and she had a tanned skin tone. She was wearing a light brown shirt with loose sleeves that went down past her hands. On her legs she had tight athletic shorts along with loose sandals.

"You a cat faunus?" Ace asked the fifteen year old girl.

"Leopard faunus actually," the girl said as one of her ears turned a little, revealing leopard spots.

"Neat. I've never met one before. Name's Ace." He said as he stuck out his arm. The girl giggled in amusement.

"I know. You're kind of famous. My name's Serena." She said as she shook Ace's hand. Seeing that the combatants were ready to begin, Bowie started the timer. Ace and Serena immediately jumped away from each other. Ace's eyes fell on the clawed gauntlets that fell out of her sleeves and positioned themselves on her hands. Ace chuckled at the irony. Since he still didn't have a weapon, Ace took a boxing stance and hopped from one foot to the other.

Both fighters spent the first few seconds just staring at each other, trying to find an obvious weakness in the others form. Serena rushed at Ace, clawed gauntlet raised. Ace took a step back as the claws slashed at thin air. Ace did a quick jab. Serena raised her left hand and blocked it with her gauntlet. She then brought her knee up and smashed it into Ace's stomach. To her surprise, Ace smiled and grabbed her leg.

"Gonna have to do better than that." Ace said as he swung Serena over his shoulder. She landed on the floor with a small thump. Serena responded by kicking her leg out and tripping Ace. She got on top of him and swung her claws downwards, intent on striking his face. Ace turned his head at the last second, Serena's claws gouging holes in floor where his head was.

Ace quickly made a fist and swung it into Serena's side. The leopard girl gritted her teeth, but stayed on top of Ace. She made a fist of her own and laid a right hook on Ace's face.

"Better," Ace said with a grin. Serena brought her clawed fist down again only to have Ace catch it in his hand. She tried to pull away, but Ace wouldn't let go. He brought his knee up under her stomach and kicked her off of him. Both quickly stood back up and charged at each other. Ace scowled in frustration as Serena dodged and blocked every punch he threw at her. Seeing that Ace had lost focus for a second, Serena slipped inside his defense and delivered a barrage of clawed strikes to his midsection.

Ace caught her last strike and refused to let go. Unable to move, Serena was forced to dodge to the best of her ability as Ace sent a barrage of one handed punches at her. She winced every time one connected. _He really can throw a punch_. Ace finished his attack by slamming his foot into her shin. Serena did her best to keep from falling. Ace quickly backed off to have a moment to think.

 _She's faster than I expected. I'll have to up the ante if I want to compete with her_. In truth, Ace had become accustomed to holding back his strength and speed as he was almost always massively superior to his opponent in that regard. Now though, he would have to take this fight a little more seriously. He grinned as he realized that this class would be more entertaining than he thought. Seeing that Serena had regained her footing, Ace charged he again.

Serena was not ready for Ace's increased speed and strength. She desperately tried to put up a defense only to have Ace rip through anything she could muster. He somersaulted over her shoulders and drove his knee into the back of Serena's head. The leopard faunus was sent face first into the arena floor. Ace took a couple steps forward, unsure if he had overdone it.

Serena suddenly sprang up and pointed her hands at Ace. The claws detached and were sent speeding at Ace, cables being connected to the back of the claws. The cables wrapped around Ace's arm. Before he could react, Ace found himself being pulled forward. Serena swung her other hand and delivered a big right to Ace's face.

Seeing that he was at a disadvantage, Ace let loose a little more of his strength. He gripped the cables on his arm and flipped them over his head, throwing Serena over in the process. Serena got back up, panting slightly. Ace on the other hand didn't even look winded. That wasn't very surprising. Everyone knew that Ace had an unreal amount of stamina for a twelve year old.

Having had enough, Ace dashed at Serena, intent on ending the fight right then and there. When he tried to punch her, he was surprised to see his fist go straight through her. He looked around only to have Serena's knee slam into the back of his head. Ace stumbled forward. He looked behind himself only to see five Serena's circling him!

"The Hell is this?" Ace asked as he stared at his opponents.

"My semblance. I can create mirages of myself." One of the Serena's said. Ace charged that Serena only to have his attack go through the copy. He sighed in frustration as he felt the real Serena slash at his back. By the time he turned around, the real Serena had hid among her mirages. He tried a couple more times, only to be met with the same result. Suddenly, a thought came to Ace. Wanting to test it out, Ace rushed a random Serena and attacked it. It turned out to be a mirage and Ace felt the real Serena punch the back of his neck. Ace smiled as he stumbled forward. Ace attacked another mirage. He quickly turned around and grabbed the clawed punch the real Serena had tried to hit him with. Ace smiled at her in triumph. Serena gulped when she realized that she was trapped.

"You really should change up your attack pattern," Ace said. He cocked back a punch and delivered a haymaker to her face. Serena was sent flying out of bounds and hit the floor with a small thud.

"Ow," Serena whispered as she laid on the floor. Ace came over and offered her a hand up. Ace pulled her up with little effort.

"Good job. I haven't been challenged like that since I fought a professor," Ace said with a kind smile.

"Oh please, you were holding back the entire time." Serena said as she dryly chuckled. Ace winced a little.

"Was it that obvious?" Ace honestly asked.

"To everyone else? Probably not. To me? Kind of. No matter what I did, you just kept getting stronger and faster to compensate." Serena said with a sigh. "Not to mention you didn't even have to use your semblance. I really wanted to see what it was too," Serena complained.

"You and everyone else." Ace said. Serena laughed a little.

"Anyways, good job Ace. You certainly deserved that victory." Serena said as she patted the shorter boy on the back. Ace didn't bother mentioning that she hadn't retracted her clawed gauntlets. It didn't hurt that much anyway…

 **...Later…**

Ace walked out of his last class of the day. He made his way down to the courtyard and found Yang waiting at her usual spot for him.

"Hey Ace, ready to go?" Yang asked as she started down the road. Ace nodded and walked beside her. They didn't get far before someone stopped them.

"Hi Ace," a voice from behind them said. Both Ace and Yang turned around and saw a girl their age had been the one to talk. She had black hair that was dyed purple near the end. Her hair was long enough to cover the bottom of her neck. She was wearing a dark blue, long sleeve shirt with a purple vest over it. On her legs were black leggings with blue jean shorts over them. She was wearing high heeled boots on her legs.

"Hey Violet," Ace said. Yang looked at him in confusion.

"You know her?" Yang asked.

"She's in our math and history class Yang." Ace responded. Luffy was the one with problem remembering people and names. Ace on the other hand, because of his respectful nature, makes the effort to learn everyone's name. It was the nice thing to do.

"I sit a couple rows behind you guys," Violet said. "I was actually kinda hoping to talk to you in private." Violet said while sparing a glance at Yang. Ace stared at her in confusion.

"Why?" He asked.

"It's kind of personal," Violet said, a small blush forming on her features. Yang regarded her fellow classmate with a suspicious stare.

"Okay. Go on ahead Yang. I'll catch up." Ace said as he motioned for Yang to go without him. Yang lingered for a couple of seconds, unsure of what to do. Finally, she started walking away.

"Don't take too long." Was all the blonde girl said. She continued walking for a few minutes, unsure of how to take the situation. She heard steps behind her and turned around to find Ace jogging in her direction. Yang slowed down a little, though it was unnecessary. Ace could have caught up no matter what.

"So, what'd she want?" Yang asked.

"I don't really know." Ace replied, confusion written all over his face."First she said that she thought I was really nice, then she said that she thought I was cute. What does she mean by 'cute?" Ace asked. "I know Zwei is cute. Ruby can be cute when she makes that puppy dog face of her's. Is she saying I look like a girl?" Ace asked. Yang meanwhile, had adopted a displeased look on her face. Hearing that Violet had called Ace cute really bugged her for some reason.

"Anyways, then she asked me what my relationship to you was." Ace said. "I told her we were friends and she seemed to relax for some reason. She invited me to come have lunch with her and her group of friends tomorrow." Ace finished. Yang tried to make sense of what she was feeling. _Why is this bugging me so much? Am I afraid that he'll make new friends and stop being mine?_ Yang thought in an attempt to rationalize her thoughts. _Yeah, that's probably what it is._

"Are you going to sit with them?" Yang asked.

"Nope." was Ace's simple reply.

"Why?" Yang asked in surprise. She was positive that Ace would have said yes. Ace didn't like rejecting someone's invitation as he considered it rude.

"Because she said you couldn't come too." Ace replied with a shrug of her shoulders. All of Yang's displeasure dissipated almost instantly. _As if Ace would ever stop being my friend_. Yang thought with a smile. She pushed any thoughts she had on Violet out of her head. The route home Ace and Yang were taking led them past City Hall. They saw a huge gathering of people focused in the center of the City Hall's courtyard.

"Oh yeah, there's a faunus protest going on today," Ace said while sparing a glance at the protestors.

"I didn't hear anything about this," Yang remarked.

"That's because you don't know any faunus." Ace pointed out. Yang gave an irritated noise, though she new that Ace hadn't meant it as an insult. "Looks like it's the White Fang," Ace said as he saw the White Fang insignia on multiple banners. "Wanna check it out?" Ace asked his friend.

"Eh, why not? Come on," Yang said as she made her way to the protesting area. She had never been to a protest before, so all the people shouting and sticking signs in the air was a little overwhelming. Ace, being used to such noise from his time as a pirate, took the lead as they made their way to the center.

"So what do you think?" Ace half screamed so that Yang could hear him.

"It's a little loud," Yang responded. Ace laughed in agreement and went back to observing the protestors. Ace had a soft spot for faunus. He could relate to their struggle. Ace looked up the street and paused. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a group of men make their way down one of the sidewalks. Ace knew the look of men that wanted to cause trouble. Ace also knew just how violent this could potentially get. He had to get Yang out of there.

"Yang, we have to leave now." Ace said as he tugged on Yang's arm.

"But we just got here," Yang complained as she dug her feet into the ground. Ace didn't respond, opting for forcing her to move. He tried speeding up when he heard commotion coming in the opposite direction.

"Faunus piece of shit!" One of the men yelled. His friends followed suite and hurled their own insults at the protestors.

"Don't you have any animals you need to fuck right now!?" Another person yelled. Being a peaceful organization, the White Fang protestors did their best to ignore the racist group of people. The other group did not take too kindly to this.

"Hey! I'm talking to you savages! Don't ignore me!" Another man said as he threw his empty alcohol bottle at the group. The glass bottle shattered on the head of an unsuspecting protesters. The response was immediate.

"The Hell is your problem!?" A fox faunus yelled.

"Someone call the police!" Another yelled as he cradled the bleeding faunus' head in his lap.

"What'd we ever do to you!?" A younger faunus yelled. The other group laughed in response.

"You abominations exist! That's reason enough!" A group member in the back yelled. Ace stopped in his tracks. That insult had hit dangerously close to home for him. He turned and glared at the group. Feeling brave, the speaker copied his friend's actions and threw his bottle of alcohol at the crowd. While they were able to avoid having the bottle hit one of their own, the faunus were still hurt when the shattered glass cut some of them up. Ace grinded his teeth together when he saw the hurt faunus cry out. Yang looked at Ace with concern. There weren't a lot of things that could make Ace this angry.

The second bottle seemed to have caused a chain reaction, as more members of the violent group started hurling whatever they could get their hands on at the protestors. The faunus did their best to avoid the objects that were being thrown at them. Even then, multiple protestors still found themselves victim to the hurled objects.

"Why aren't they fighting back!?" Yang asked in anger. She couldn't understand why they were just letting this happen.

"They're trying to prove a point Yang. If they give in and retaliate, then they're just as bad as the bastards over in the other group." Ace growled out as he saw more faunus being hurt by thrown objects.

"Ace!? Yang!?" A voice to their right asked. Both kids turned and saw Sally running towards them. She had taken her bandanna off to show her squirrel ears. "You kids need to leave! It's getting dange-" Sally didn't get to finish as she was hit in the head with a thrown brick. Yang gasped and ran to Sally's collapsed form. Ace on the other hand turned and scanned the group of racists.

"You see that!? I nailed the squirrel bitch right on her head!" Someone gloated to his friends. Ace focused his glare on the speaker.

"Stay here Yang. I'll be right back." Ace said as he made his way forward, ignoring Yang's calls.

"Ace come back!" Yang yelled, but to no avail. Ace continued his determined pace. Yang took off her hoodie and pressed it over Sally's head wound. She desperately looked for any sign of an ambulance.

"Someone has to have called the hospital by now," Yang said as she tried to stem the bleeding on Sally's head. Ace, meanwhile, had made it to the front of the protest group.

"Kid get back here!" A faunus adult yelled as he saw Ace continue walking.

"Don't do anything rash! Prove that faunus aren't the monsters people make us out to be." An older White Fang representative said.

"I'm not a faunus." Ace pointed out. "Besides, these people hurt someone dear to me, so now they must pay," Ace said, ignoring any further attempts to convince him to stay. By the time he had covered half the distance between both groups, the aggressive group had noticed his arrival.

"The Hell is this kid?" One remarked.

"Listen Junior, leave before you hurt yourself." Another said. Ace glared at the group as he came to a stop a few meters from the group.

"I don't appreciate people who hurt my family," Ace said. This caused an uproar of laughter from the aggressors.

"What're you gonna do? Kill us?" One mocked.

"Doesn't sound like such a bad idea right now," Ace remarked. He knew very well that he could kill every one of them without too much trouble. The question was whether he should.

"Why the Hell are you defending these devil spawn!?" One, presumably the leader, yelled. Ace finally snapped at the mention of devil.

"BECAUSE THEY DON'T DESERVE TO BE JUDGED JUST BECAUSE OF THEIR HERITAGE!" Ace bellowed as loud as he could. The entire area seemed to go quiet at that moment.

"You people are what's wrong with the world." Ace said as miniscule flames appeared around his clenched hand. "I won't allow you to hurt another faunus." Ace said as he began walking forward. Yang, meanwhile, was on the verge of a breakdown. Here she was pressing a blood soaked hoody to the head of her best friend's mother figure while said best friend was about to fight a group of adults.

"Ace don't!" Yang yelled in desperation. The blonde girl looked around for anyway to diffuse the situation.

"That guy behind you is first," Ace said, now only a few feet away from his opponents. "He's the one who hurt Sally." Ace sated. The other guy laughed in arrogance. He was a full grown man, and this was just some twelve year old. He could thrash the kid.

"Fine tough guy. Your funeral." The aggressor said as he made his way to the front of the group. Ace didn't even wait for him to walk the full distance between him and the group. A sickening crack echoed throughout the vicinity. In the blink of an eye, Ace had the other man on the concrete, the man's head bleeding from the side. Yang brought her hand over her mouth in shock and regarded Ace with an all new feeling: fear. She had never seen Ace attack another human being with such brutality. Sure, she had seen him fight a couple of classmates, but she knew that they were just practicing and would be okay in the end. This was different though. Yang honestly couldn't tell if Ace had just killed a human being. The human group stared at Ace in shock. Ace lowered his slightly bloody, the blood not being his, fist and turned to the rest of the group.

"He's not dead if that's what you're wondering." Ace said as he took a menacing step forward. The human group, having just witnessed Ace's abilities, faltered. They turned and ran. Ace made no move to follow them, as he could see police cars coming in the same direction that the violent humans were running in. They would be arrested soon enough. Right now, though, Ace had other things to do. He slung the unconscious man over his shoulder and dragged him down to where Sally layd.

"How is she?" Ace asked as he dropped the man on the floor.

"I managed to stop the bleeding. She needs medical attention though." Yang said as she spared a glance at Ace's fist. She cringed a little when she saw the dried blood on it. She looked back up at Ace with thinly veiled fear. Ace noticed the way Yang was hesitating around him and instantly felt guilty about the way he had acted. He had let his emotions get the better of him. Yang was scared of him now.

"Yang.. I'm sorry… I..." Ace said as he took a step forward. Yang flinched slightly which caused Ace to stop in his tracks.

"We'll talk about this later Ace." Was all that Yang said. Ace slowly nodded his head. He picked up the unconscious man and half carried, half dragged him to the nearest police car. Ace absentmindedly noticed that the paramedics had arrived.

"Hey, this is one of the people who attacked the protesters." Ace said to the nearest cop. The cop looked bewildered for a second, not used to seeing a twelve year old drag an adult body around, but quickly hid it behind a mask of professionalism.

"What happened to his head?" The officer asked as he saw the dried blood on the man's head.

"I did that to him. He threw a brick at my...mom." Ace said, pausing as he pondered what to call Sally. Really, Sally had been the closest thing Ace had ever had to a mother. The only other person who he held in the same regard was Makino, so Ace didn't see a problem with calling her mom.

"We'll take him into custody." The officer said as he motioned for two other cops to take the man away. The officer paused as he thought of how to put the next part.

"Listen kid, I'm going to have to take you into custody for questioning. I doubt you'll be charged, but this is protocol." The officer said with an apologetic smile. Ace shrugged in response. Honestly, he was half expecting to be arrested on the spot. This was a better situation.

"Can I tell my friend that I have to go with you?" Ace asked.

"Sure, as long as I can come. Can't let you out of my sight now." The officer replied. Ace nodded and walked down to where the paramedics had established an impromptu first aid camp. He looked around for Sally, as he knew that Yang would be with her. He finally found Yang standing next to a now awake Sally. She had a few bandages wrapped around her head. She turned around nd smiled in relief.

"Ace! I'm so glad that you're okay!" Sally said as she ran and gave Ace a hug. Yang walked up as well, though stopped when she saw the police officer. She had a moment of panic for her friend.

"Ace, why is there a police officer with you?" Sally said.

"I have to go with him Sally. I… hurt the guy who threw that brick at you." Ace stated as he looked down in shame. Sally stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"Are you arresting Ace?" Yang asked as she twiddled her fingers nervously.

"Don't worry little lady. He most likely won't be charged with anything. We just need to bring him in for questioning." The officer respectfully said. Yang calmed down somewhat.

"When can I pick him up?" Sally asked.

"Shouldn't take more than a couple hours. You know, paperwork and all that." The officer said as he chuckled at his own joke.

"You're going to have to explain to your dad what happened without me Yang. Sorry." Ace said with a shaky smile. He turned and walked away without bothering to wait for a response from Yang. The officer tipped his hat and followed Ace to his patrol car. Yang looked on as her friend entered the back of the car. She definitely needed to talk to Ace when all this blew over.

"Sally, I need to go home and talk to my dad." Yang said.

"Go ahead Yang. I'll be fine here." Sally said as she smiled at Yang. The younger girl nodded, left Sally, and started her walk home.

… **Patch Police HQ…**

"... and then the rest of his friends ran away." Ace said to the officer in front of him. The officer nodded while he wrote on a notepad, though it was not necessary. The whole conversation had been recorded.

"Alright kid, wait here for a few minutes." The older man said as he got up and exited the room. Ace sat patiently, not having much else to do.

"So what do you think?" The officer asked his colleague.

"I think we have to arrest him." The police chief said. "Normally, we would let the kid go with nothing but a slap on the wrist, but we just found out the kid has aura." The chief grimly said. Aura gave regular people super human abilities. It would be very easy for an aura user to abuse their powers, so laws were put in place to minimize this. One such law is that people with aura can't attack normal people unless it's self defense. The punishment was much more severe if the hunter was the aggressor. What Ace did was not self defense, that much was clear.

"What would his punishment be?" the interrogator asked.

"He would be taken to a specially made facility to house criminals with aura. I don't like the thought of sending the kid there." The chief said, though he knew that if it got to that point, he would have to send Ace there.

"Hey chief, got a call for you on line two." A cop shouted from across the room. The chief walked to the nearest phone and answered whoever was calling him. What followed what about a minute of conversation.

"Alright, I understand." The chief said as he hung up. "Let the kid go." The chief said as he walked back to his original position.

"What?" The other cop dumbly asked.

"Let the kid go. Someone is coming to pick him up." The chief repeated. Upon seeing the confused face of his colleague, the chief elaborated.

"All potential charges against the kid have been dropped. I don't know how, but this kid must know some very influential people." The chief said with a shrug of his shoulders. He wasn't too bothered that he had to let Ace go. It was either that or potentially going to prison. Once again, it went against the chief's moral compass to send a child to jail over something like this. The other cop nodded as he went back into the room.

"Good news kid, you're free to go. You can wait over there, someone will be here to pick you up in a couple of minutes." The cop said while he gestured to the waiting area. Though he was a little confused, Ace walked out and sat on a chair in the waiting area. Qrow walked in a minute later, and he did not look happy.

"I already called Sally, Ace. You're coming with me." Qrow said as he walked out, Ace in tow. The twelve year old followed the older hunter for a few minutes. They entered a small restaurant and sat down at a table. Ace looked around in confusion. He was expecting to be grilled out by Qrow.

"Qrow, why are we here?" Ace asked.

"Getting something to eat. I'm hungry." Qrow said as he looked through a menu. "You gonna order anything kid?" Qrow asked as he looked at Ace.

"I thought you were gonna…" Ace began

"...Punish you or something like that?" Qrow asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." Ace said. Qrow smiled in amusement.

"Kid, I don't blame you for what you did. Yeah, because you had aura, it was a stupid and reckless move, but look at who you're talking to." Qrow said as he gestured to himself. "I'm the king of reckless. I did unlock your aura after all. I don't know how Taiyang and Sally will react, but you're okay in my book. Just be a little more careful with who you choose to fight. I won't always be there to pull strings and get you out of jail." Qrow said. "You gonna order anything?" Qrow asked once again. Ace smiled as he picked up his menu.

Halfway through their food, Qrow spoke up again.

"Be honest with me kid. Have you ever killed anyone?" Qrow asked as he stared at the twelve year old in front of him. Ace stared down at his meat, unsure of how to answer that.

"I was a pirate with a bounty of about 550,000,000 Lien, Qrow. Both the World Government and other Pirates were after me. What I'm trying to say is, I've killed more than my fair share of people." Ace said as he thought back to his previous life. He couldn't count the amount of marines he had killed at the Battle of Marineford, let alone his entire life. Qrow nodded, not very surprised.

"Were you going to kill the guy you punched?" Qrow asked.

"I could have done it if I wanted to, but that would have just caused more problems." Ace honestly answered. Sure, he had been somewhat desensitized to death from his time as a pirate, but he still knew when to kill and when not to kill. Qrow grunted in response. Seeing that he was done talking, Ace went back to finishing up his meat.

 **...1 Hour later, Rose/Xiao Long Residence…**

Taiyang sat on the couch, deep in thought. He was still trying to process what Yang had told him concerning Ace and the protest. No, he didn't blame Ace for taking Yang to a protest. It was being led by the White Fang, a peaceful organization. How could Ace have known that it would turn violent?

What Taiyang was thinking about was how to handle the part where Sally had gotten hurt and Ace went berserk. Anyone who didn't know Ace might consider him a menace because of this. The thought almost made Taiyang laugh. If there was one thing Taiyang knew, it was that Ace was not a menace. Yes, what Ace had done was reckless and a little excessive, but he had a good reason to be angry.

Someone chose to knock on the door at that moment. Qrow and Ace walked in a few seconds later. Ace was looking at the floor in apprehension.

"Hey Tai, where are the girls?" Qrow asked.

"They're in the backyard." Taiyang said as he looked down at Ace. Said boy decided that he might as well get this over with.

"Taiyang, I really am sorry…" Ace began, but stopped when he saw Taiyang raise his hand.

"It's fine Ace. I don't have anything against you, though I would appreciate it if you were a little more careful in the future." Taiyang said as he smiled down at Ace. "You really should be apologising to Yang about this." Taiyang said as he stepped to the side and gestured for Ace to go out back. Ace thanked the adult and made his way outside. Qrow looked at his former teammate in amusement.

"I thought you would have been harder on the kid." Qrow remarked. Taiyang shrugged in response.

"Ace isn't a bad kid. Besides, why would I blame him for wanting to protect someone he cares about?" Taiyang said as he watched Ace exit the back door. Said boy found Yang and Ruby climbing a nearby tree. He walked up to the tree and stopped a few feet away. The girls noticed him and stopped where they were, which was near the top of the tree.

"Hi Ace," Ruby said as she promptly jumped out of the tree. Ace's instincts kicked in and he ran under Ruby and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Why'd you jump?" Ace asked the youngest member of team RAY. Ruby giggled in response.

"Cause I knew you'd catch me." Ruby said as Ace put her on the ground. "Hey Yang! Jump down, it's really fun!" Ruby said to her older sister. Ace looked uncomfortably up at Yang, remembering why he had come here in the first place.

"Ruby, it's okay if she doesn't want to…" Ace began, thinking that Yang would rather climb down on account of how she reacted at the protest.

"Heads up!" Yang called from above, cutting Ace off. He looked up in surprise as Yang jumped out of the tree. As with Ruby, Ace caught her before she could hit the ground. Ace looked down at Yang with confusion and unease. Seeing his confused face, Yang quickly cut off anything he was going to say.

"Ruby, could you go get Zwei?" Yang asked as Ace let her go. Ruby nodded and went back into the house.

"I really am sorry about everything." Ace said once Ruby was out of earshot.

"It's fine Ace. Just… promise me that you'll never go berserk like that again?" Yang asked her friend. By berserk she meant when Ace wouldn't listen to reason and focused on seriously hurting someone.

"Yeah,I promise." Ace said as he gave Yang a grin. Before she could realise what she was doing, Yang found herself hugging Ace. Ace seemed just a surprised as her judging by the look on his face. Now, hugging was not the primary way Yang showed affection towards Ace. She had done it before, that much was true, but that had been under much more emotional situations, like when he was hospitalized and nearly died. For day to day interaction, however, Yang usually just wrapped an arm around Ace's neck or gave him a punch in his arm, that kind of stuff. Therefore, it was fairly reasonable for Ace to be surprised by Yang's display of affection. The twelve year old male, having gotten over his initial shock, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and patted her back with the other.

"I found Zwei!" Ruby yelled from across the backyard, corgi in hand. Yang instantly separated from Ace, a small shade of red being visible on her cheeks. Yang didn't know why she was blushing, however.

"Great, lets play team RAYZ." Yang said as she covertly wiped the small blush off her face. Ace grinned as he made his way to where Ruby was waiting, happy that he still had his two best friends at the end of the day.

"Maybe things will finally go back to normal," Ace muttered to himself, even though the whole ordeal had taken place on the same day.

 **...1 Month Later, Signal Academy…**

Ace smirked in victory. He had retained his number one spot for the second month in a row. He helped his opponent up, who had also won the number two spot last month.

"Dammit. I really thought I had you this time," his opponent, a boy named Cobalt, said. Ace had to admit that this teenager really was a good opponent. His fists still hurt from punching the teenager's shield so many times. Ace stared at the leaderboards, and smiled in pride when he saw his name at the number one position. Cobalt had the number two position, while the number three position was held by some girl named Topaz. This month, Serena had made it to the number four position, which Ace found amusing. Compared to the others, she was clearly ahead of most of them. It was just bad luck that she had to fight Ace in the first round last month.

"Well class, the school day is about to end, so you may have the rest of class to yourself." Professor Bowie said from his desk, already sending Qrow Ace's battle clips. Ace stretched a little before making his way to where Serena and a couple more faunus were sitting. They were the group of people he associated with in class the most.

"You're number one again, how surprising." Serena dryly told Ace, garnering a small laugh from the red eyed boy.

"Beat me next time we fight and things might be different." Ace said. "You did great in your fight Esther. You almost had that other guy." Ace told the girl faunus standing to Serena's right, a pair of dog ears visible on her head.

"Oh please, I'll never make top four at this rate." The dog faunus said with a dry chuckle.

"You did better than me at least," the male faunus to Serena's left said. If you were to look behind him, you would see a mouse tail attached to the small of his back.

"You did do better than Kai over here," Serena said while pointing to the mouse faunus. Any further talk was cut short when the final bell of the day rang. Ace quickly bid his friends goodbye and went to the courtyard, where Yang would be waiting for him. As he walked down the hall, a few students gave him a wide berth. The whole protest ordeal had darkened Ace's reputation somewhat. He walked out of the main building and found Yang waiting for him. Wordlessly, the pair of students made their way to Yang's home.

Unfortunately, fate had different plans.

"Hey is that smoke?" Yang asked as she pointed at a trail of black smoke going up into the air.

"Seems like it." Ace said. He stopped in his tracks, however, when he realized where the smoke was coming from.

"Shit," Ace muttered. He took off his hat and gave it to Yang. "Hold on to this will ya?" Ace asked. Yang grabbed the hat.

"Ace what's going on?" Yang asked in confusion.

"Follow me and you'll see." Ace said before bolting down a different street. Within seconds, Yang was left staring at Ace's shrinking form. Yang put the hat on her head and jogged in the direction Ace had gone in.

"This hat's actually really comfortable." Yang said to herself. Ace, meanwhile, was sprinting as fast as he could, worry etched all over his face. He turned the corner and found that his worst fears were confirmed.

The orphanage was on fire.

There was a line of police officers keeping the public away while firefighters battled the flames. Ace tried getting to the building, but was blocked by a police officer.

"Can't go any farther kid, too dangerous." The officer said as he crossed his arms. Ace was about to argue with the officer, but then he heard a scream coming from inside the orphanage. Not caring who it was that was trapped inside the burning building, Ace shoved the officer aside and ran into the orphanage. He quickly activated his logia body to not have to worry about the fire.

"Is anyone in here!?" Ace yelled above the roar of the fire.

"Over here!" He heard someone yell from one of the side rooms. He quickly dashed through the flames, not paying attention as his shirt was burnt off. He was too focused to remember to include his shirt in is logia body. He only remembered to keep his shorts and shoes from burning. He broke through the burning door separating him from the room. He entered and found two kids a few years younger than him cowering in the corner.

"It's alright, I'm gonna get you outta here." Ace said in what he hoped was a caring voice. The kids seemed to buy it as they quickly ran to him. Ace carried one in each arm as he ran out of the room. He quickly made his way to the exit and left the children outside. He absentmindedly noticed that Yang was behind the yellow police tape, hat in hand.

"Do you know if anyone else is in there?" Ace asked the children.

"Sally went upstairs to check if any kids are still there." One of the kids said. Ace immediately went back inside, ignoring the protests of the cop he had shoved a couple minutes beforehand. Once again Ace was inside the burning building. This time he went up the stairs to the second floor. He ran down the hallway, but tripped when the whole building suddenly lurched to one side.

"This whole things gonna fall down soon," Ace said to himself as he got back up. "Sally!?" Ace yelled into the burning hallway.

"Ace!?" Was the reply he heard from one of the bedrooms. The freckled boy shoulder charged the door, splitting it in two. He looked inside and saw Sally holding another child.

"We gotta get out of here!" Ace yelled as he motioned for them to exit. Sally and the child went into the hallway and followed Ace as he led them down the stairs. They were about to exit the building when a sharp crack was heard above them. The trio looked up and froze when they saw that one of the support beams had cracked and was falling on them. Sally clutched the child and closed her eyes, expecting to have been crushed by the wooden beam. When nothing happened, Sally opened her eyes and saw that Ace was carrying the beam on his shoulders. Judging by his bent knees and the strained look on his face, the beam was much heavier than originally thought.

"Get...Out…" Ace growled as the wooden floor beneath him started cracking around him. He was visibly straining to hold up the huge wooden beam. The beam had to have been at least half a ton in weight. Sally wanted to argue, but she had another child to worry about. She picked up the kid and ran out the door. She was about to turn back to go for Ace when the building gave a low groan. The fire had finally succeeded in ruining the building's structural integrity as it came crashing down.

She was about to cry out for Ace when she saw movement in the still burning wreckage. An entire side of the roof was pushed aside as Ace climbed out of the hole he had created. He coughed a couple times, having gotten some ash in his lungs, before walking through the fire to where Sally was. She quickly hugged Ace, relieved that he was okay.

"Did you forget that I have aura?" Ace asked. Of course he was using his logia body, but no one needed to know that yet. He looked back at the burning remains of the wreckage.

"Sally, what's gonna happen now?" Ace asked as he watched the authorities put out the rest of the fire. His home was gone.

"I don't really know Ace." Sally honestly answered. "You and the other kids will probably be moved to some other orphanage."

"What?" Both Ace and Sally heard behind them. They turned around and sa Yang ducking under the police tape and running to their position. "Ace is leaving?" Yang frantically asked. The idea of Ace leaving her and Ruby did not sit well with the young girl.

"I kind of have to Yang." Ace glumly said. Patch Orphanage was the only orphanage in Patch. If Ace went to another, then he would be in a completely different city.

"Can't he just live with me?" Yang asked.

"It's not that simple Yang. Until he's adopted, he's under the government's protection." Sally answered. Just then, Ruby showed up along with her father and uncle.

"Are you okay? We saw the smoke and came straight here." Taiyang said as he stared at Ace and Sally.

"Yeah. Ace rushed into the building and got us out of there." Sally said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Qrow muttered to himself.

"Are you okay Ace?" Ruby asked as she checked the shirtless boy for any injuries.

"My shirt got burnt off and the building fell on me, but other than that I can't complain." Ace said as he grinned at Ruby. He stared back at the smoldering remains of his home. "Oh, wait yes I can complain. My home is gone, and I'll probably have to move to another city or something." Ace said. Ruby froze for a few seconds, contemplating what Ace had just told her. What followed was Ruby having another small break down.

"So Ace and the other kids will be moved to some other city?" Taiyang asked Sally. In the background Ruby could be seen clinging on to Ace's arm, refusing to let go. Yang took the liberty of giving Ace his hat back, something he was very grateful for.

"Probably. There isn't any other orphanage here in Patch. That's kinda why this one was called 'Patch Orphanage.'" Sally said. Taiyang looked somewhat saddened while Qrow was looking down in heavy thinking.

"What if I adopt the kid?" Qrow suddenly asked, garnering a stupefied silence from the other two adults.

"...Are you serious?" Taiyang asked his former team mate.

"Yeah." Qrow answered. The blonde haired man's shoulders started trembling, followed by the rest of his body. The former hunter couldn't hold it in anymore. He broke out into intense laughter. He laughed so hard that his sides hurt and he was literally rolling on the floor. The trio of children stopped what they were doing, which was prying Ruby off of Ace's arm as she was starting to cut off blood flow, to stare at Taiyang.

"Someone must have told a very good joke." Ace said.

"Either that or Uncle Qrow said something ridiculous, like that he's gonna quit drinking or something like that." Yang said as she stared at the rolling form of her father. Qrow himself did not look very amused by Taiyang's reaction.

"What the Hell is so funny?" Qrow asked, his left eye twitching in annoyance. Taiyang stopped laughing so he could answer Qrow's question.

"You… being… a parent." Taiyang said between gasps. He hadn't laughed so hard in a long time, so he was somewhat out of breath. "No offense Qrow, but you're not exactly the father type." Taiyang said once he had stopped gasping.

"Oh please. The kid isn't a baby anymore. He can take care of himself just fine." Qrow pointed out. "So anyways, what if I adopt him?" Qrow asked Sally.

"Then Ace will go live with you." Sally answered. "Are you seriously planning on adopting Ace?" Sally asked.

"Why is this so hard for you people to believe?" Qrow asked as he took a long swig from his flask out of sheer annoyance. Sally waited as Qrow drank his flask dry. _Oh the irony_ , Sally silently thought. "Yes, I want to adopt him. Where's the paperwork?" Qrow asked once he had drained the flask's contents.

"It was in there," Sally gestured to the charred remains of the building, "but I could probably get the paperwork over at city hall." Sally answered.

"Here, I'll drive you." Taiyang said as he motioned for Sally to follow him to his car. Qrow watched them get into his bright yellow automobile.

"I still don't get why he wanted the car painted yellow." Qrow muttered to himself. He looked back at the trio of children. Ruby had finally let go of Ace and they were now exploring the wreckage of the orphanage. Having decided to tell the children, Qrow walked over to where they were digging through the rubble.

"What are you kids doing?" Qrow asked.

"Checking if my Bo staff survived the fire." Ace answered while still focused on moving wreckage aside. Ruby and Yang nodded as they worked alongside Ace.

"Found it." Yang said as she cleared a couple planks aside. She picked up the black staff and looked it over for any damages. "It's a little dirty, but other than that it's in good shape." Yang said as she handed the Bo staff to Ace. He stood up and twirled it a few times to make sure it was in good condition. He nodded in satisfaction as he turned to face Qrow.

"Where'd Taiyang and Sally go?" Ace asked.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you kids about. You don't have to worry about Ace moving somewhere else." Qrow said. He could see that he now had their full attention. "We managed to find Ace a new guardian."

"Who?" Ace asked.

"Me." Qrow said. The trio gave him a blank look.

"... What?" All three said at the same time.

"I'm adopting you Ace." Qrow said while growing a little impatient. Ruby and Yang started shaking like their father before breaking down in laughter. Ace, on the other hand, had a confused look on his face.

"Why?" The boy asked.

"'Why' what?" Qrow asked.

"Why are you doing this for me? You don't owe me anything." Ace said. Sure, he and Qrow got along just fine, but not to the point where Ace would believe Qrow would adopt him just like that.

"That's where you're wrong kid." Qrow paused as he gave the laughing pair of girls an annoyed look. "Can we discuss this away from them?" Qrow asked while he gestured to the laughing forms of Yang and Ruby. Ace nodded and they made their way to a spot a few meters away.

"Where was I?" Qrow said to himself as he tried to find his train of thought. "Oh yeah. Kid, I owe you a lot more than you think." He gave Yang and Ruby, who were still in the final stages of their laughter, a fond look. "I may not act like it, but those two girls are the best thing I have in life. I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to them. You saved their lives twice Ace. Each time you got hurt in the process, but you didn't care. Yang and Ruby are lucky to know a guy like you, kid." Qrow paused when he saw Yang and Ruby start to play around with Ace's staff.

"There's one reason to adopt you. There isn't any other way to put this, but the girls think the world of you Ace, especially Ruby. You know she's actually starting to think of you as an older brother?" Qrow said with a smile. Ace spared a glance at the silver eyed girl.

"Actually sounds kind of nice." Ace admitted as he smiled at the idea. He really did enjoy being an older brother.

"Thanks to you, Ruby's been breaking out of that shell of hers. She's making friends in school and is more outgoing. With you around as her anchor, Yang has cut back on that thrill seeker attitude of hers. The point is, they've gotten to the point where they imagine life with you in it by default. No matter what they think the future holds, you're in it in some way, shape, or form. There aren't a lot of people they think of that way." Qrow paused as he considered what he was going to say next. Meanwhile, Ace was staring at Qrow in amazement. He was used to a Qrow that loved screwing with people, being drunk, and giving affection a wide berth. To hear him sound so sincere and caring was a major deviation from the norm.

"That's another reason to adopt you. I guess that my final reason is that you've grown on me kid. I want you to stick around for a few more years." Qrow said while rubbing the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable. Ace looked anywhere except at Qrow. He didn't really know what to say to that.

"Well… when you put it like that, I guess you adopting me isn't such a bad idea." Ace said. "Just don't expect me to take your last name or call you dad or anything like that." Ace said with a grin. Qrow chuckled, glad that the sentimental moment was over.

"I'd prefer it if you stuck to Qrow anyways. Calling me dad makes me feel weird and old." Qrow said with a light chuckle. The two males made their way back over to where Ruby and Yang where playing with the Bo staff. Ruby was chopping at the air with it while Yang was nursing a bruise on her forearm.

"How'd you get the bruise?" Ace asked the moment he saw it.

"I tried twirling the staff." Was Yang's sheepish reply. To pass the time, Qrow showed the girls the proper way you should twirl a staff. Ruby was surprisingly good at it, only taking a couple tries before she did it successfully. Qrow noticed this and made a mental note to remember it. Taiyang's car pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later.

"I've got the papers Qrow." Sally said as she got out of the car. Taiyang followed soon after. Qrow and company walked up to the car where Sally was laying out the papers that needed to be signed on the hood.

"Where do I sign?" Qrow asked as Sally gave him a pen.

"Sign here… here... initials here… phone number here… full name here… and initials here." Sally said as she pointed out where Qrow had to sign. "Alright, now i just need Ace to sign here and you'll be his official guardian." Sally said as she took the pen away from Qrow and gave it to Ace. The red eyed boy regarded the document for a few seconds before signing his full name on it.

"Congratulations, you're now father and son." Sally said as she got a little teary eyed. Seeing Ace get adopted had been something she had been waiting for for a long time. Ace looked up at Qrow with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Daddy?" Ace asked as innocently as he could. Behind him he could hear Taiyang and his daughters doing their best to hold down their laughter.

"Stop it." Qrow said as he gave Ace a small glare. "Anyways, you gonna need any help moving your luggage?" Qrow asked.

Ace gave him the blankest stare ever. Of all time.

"What?" Qrow asked upon seeing Ace's expression. Ace responded by pointing to the wreckage of the orphanage.

"Oh yeah, my bad." Qrow said as he cleared his throat. Of course all of Ace's stuff had been burnt to a crisp.

"Real smooth Qrow, real smooth." Taiyang said from behind Ace.

"I'll have to take you shopping then," Qrow said as he tried to salvage the situation. "Wanna go now?" Qrow asked.

"What about Sally?" Ace asked as he stared at his surrogate mother.

"What are you going to do?" Taiyang asked in curiosity. "We have a few spare rooms if you want to stay." Taiyang offered.

"Thanks, but I have to go stay with the other orphans. Wherever they go, I go." Sally said.

"Does this mean…?" Ace asked in realization.

"Yes Ace. I'll be leaving Patch soon." Sally said with a sad smile. "I'll come by to see you before I leave." Sally said as she gave Ace a hug.

"You need me drive you?" Taiyang asked.

"No, it's okay. We'll be staying right down the street for the time being." Sally said. "I have to go. I'll be sure to say goodbye before I leave." With a final wave goodbye, Sally turned and walked to the building currently housing all the orphans. The small family was left alone to think of what to do next.

"So we gonna go shopping?" Qrow asked.

"I'm not wearing a shirt Qrow. Pretty sure most places won't let me in." Ace pointed out. Yang grew slightly uncomfortable when Ace mentioned he was still shirtless. It wasn't that she found a shirtless Ace attractive, though she had to admit that he had a surprising amount of muscle definition for a twelve year old, but that she could see the fist shaped scar that covered most of his chest. Looking at it reminded her of the mistake she made.

"I have a jacket he can wear." Yang offered. She went into the back seat of her father's car and pulled out an _Achieve Men_ jacket. Ace put it on without complaint. He couldn't care less about what he was wearing right now.

"Everyone get in. We'll make this our first official family outing." Taiyang said with a smile. They got into Taiyang's car, the adults in front and children in back and drove to the nearest mall. They got out and went to the clothing store where Yang and Ruby got their clothes. What followed was a shopping montage where Ace was pretty much forced to try on different clothes. I use the term forced because Ace was perfectly happy with his shorts and Islander shirts, while everyone else had other ideas. Ruby made him try on cloaks and hoods, Yang had him wear slightly tighter clothing than he was used to, Taiyang had him put on a variety of dress shirts, and even Qrow had him put on a couple of trench coats and vests. When they finally exited the clothing store, Ace had clothes ranging from a black trench coat to a bright orange hood.

"Anything else you want?" Qrow asked. "There's a video game store over there." Qrow said as he pointed to a nearby store. Ace gave the store a bored look. He wasn't all that into video games. He liked playing them with Yang and Ruby, but he didn't actively try to get new games. He looked around and grinned when he saw when he saw a sailing themed store.

"Follow me," Ace said as he made his way inside the store. He immediately went for the world maps of Remnant and the star charts. Like a seasoned veteran, which he kinda was, Ace looked through each map and chart and found those he deemed useful. By the time he finished, he had a detailed map of Remnant, an extensive star chart, a map of ocean currents, and a new compass in case the one on his wristwatch broke.

"Why do you want all this boring stuff?" Yang asked as she looked at Ace's star chart.

"It's useful stuff Yang." Ace said as he gathered his items into his arms. Qrow grinned when he realized that this was the kind of stuff Ace deemed interesting and important. He had been a pirate captain after all. It was his job to make sure his crew was safe when they were out sailing. Part of keeping a crew safe was knowing where you are in the world.

"Got everything you need, kid?" Qrow asked. Ace nodded as he made his way to the cashier. Qrow quickly paid for it all and the family made their way outside to where Taiyang's car was parked. They quickly made their way home as it was almost time for the kids to go to sleep. Ace was shown to his new room. Because it was getting late, Ace just left his stuff on the floor and went to sleep. He would organize everything tomorrow

 **...Later That Night…**

"I've really gone above and beyond the call of duty here, Ozpin." Qrow said into his scroll.

"Qrow, I-," Ozpin began.

"I'm not done talking yet. I think we can both agree that I've done a good job working for you Ozpin. We may have our differences and minor disagreements, but I've always gotten the job done. For you to force me to adopt the kid like that, after everything I've done for you, is a huge dick move. I don't appreciate this Ozpin." Qrow growled into his scroll.

"...Are you done?" Came Ozpin's bored reply.

"Yes."

"Okay, first of all, I never forced you to do anything Qrow. I wasn't even aware that you had adopted the boy until about five minutes ago. Second of all, 'minor disagreements?" Qrow, it takes all of Glynda's self control not to slap you everytime she sees you. My conversations with you leave me so drained that I go through a gallon of coffee right after. Finally, we both know that you wanted to adopt the boy, but you don't want to admit that, so you're using me as a scapegoat to justify your actions." Ozpin said in a collected, yet obviously annoyed, voice. Qrow was quiet for a few seconds, not knowing how to respond.

"... Well anyways I adopted the kid. I'll send you this week's fight clips tomorrow." Qrow said as he hung up on Ozpin. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

"I hate it when he's right…" Qrow grumbled before laying down and going to sleep.

 **...1 Week Later…**

"You're going to Vale?" Taiyang asked. Sally nodded her head.

"I came to say goodbye." Sally said as she said her goodbyes to Qrow, Taiyang, and the two sisters. She gave a sad smile when she finally got to Ace.

"I'll see you soon Ace, okay?" Sally said as she gave Ace a hug. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes when she felt Ace quietly sobbing into her shoulders. In that moment, she forgot about the twelve year old boy with amazing abilities. All she saw was a small, freckled baby abandoned on her doorstep.

"Come visit me when you go to Beacon, deal?" Sally said as she let go of Ace. Ace wiped his eyes with his arm and gave Sally a small, shaky smile.

"Deal." Ace said. With one final goodbye, Sally exited the house and left Patch soon after.

 **...1 Month Later, The Coast…**

"... Sorry it took me so long, but in my defense it can be pretty hard to figure out dates when you're in another dimension." Ace said. He was currently sitting at the edge of the water, and was the only person around for miles.

"Well, I'm here now, and that's all that matters." Ace said with a sad smile. He picked a cup off the small, wooden table he had put in front of him. The table was filled with food, meat specifically, and two cups of liquid, one of which was in Ace's hand. He took a small drink from the cup and scowled.

"What did Qrow call this? Whiskey?" Ace asked himself. "Well either way, it's nowhere near as good as sake. I'll get you some sake next year." Ace said as he downed the rest of the alcohol in his cup. Qrow hadn't given Ace any alcohol. The older hunter wasn't _that_ irresponsible. Ace had gone into his room and stolen a bottle.

"I bet you're probably wondering what I've been up to these last few years. Well, there was this god named Monty and he did some magic and put me in a world called Remnant…" Ace said as he continued his one sided conversation with the ocean.

"Yang and Ruby are nice. They kind of remind me of you actually. This world is a lot smaller than ours, so there isn't much to do. The funnest thing would be to become a huntsmen, so that's what I'm doing." Ace said with a chuckle. Not everyone becomes a huntsmen because of some deep, emotional reason. Some people just want to have some fun.

"Well, that's enough about me, what've you been up to? Who am I kidding, you're probably the pirate king by now. You probably have all the freedom you could get." Ace said. He knew he was talking to the ocean, but he didn't care. Ruby talked like this to her mother's grave, so Ace couldn't care less if he was talking to water. He spent the next hour having his one sided conversation with the large body of water. Eventually, he ran out of things to say.

"I'll see you next year, and I'll have even better stories to tell you. It was great talking to you again." Ace said as he gathered up his cups and the table. He had already eaten the meat on the table. He gazed at the ocean one more time.

"Happy birthday Luffy." Ace said with a sad, nostalgic smile. He turned around and walked back up the path towards his house. All Ace had of his previous life was his hat, nothing else. Considering that he had nothing else, talking to the ocean was how Ace felt closest to Luffy.

"I miss you," Ace said as he left.

 **...7 Months Later, The Coast…**

"Wait, so you can't swim?" Yang asked as she stared a Ace. They were having a family outing to the beach and everyone had dressed appropriately. Yang was wearing a yellow two piece bikini while Ruby was wearing a dark red one piece bathing suit. Taiyang and Qrow were both wearing tank tops and swimming trunks as they worked on grilling various food items for their barbeque. Ace was shirtless and wearing a pair of swimming trunks, though he had no plans of going into the saltwater.

"Nope. Not even a little." Ace said as he stared at the ocean a few feet below him. He and Yang were currently standing on a small cliff, only about two meters high, overlooking the ocean. Ace didn't see the mischievous grin that spread across Yang's face. He just continued to stare down at the deep blue water, a nostalgic smile on his face. He didn't notice Yang slowly creeping up behind him.

"You really should learn how to swim Ace." Yang commented in an attempt to keep Ace busy.

"Trust me, nothing is going to work." Ace said without looking up. Had he tilted his head even a few degrees up, he would have seen Yang raise her arms in preparation.

"I can teach you." Yang offered as she tried to keep the excitement in her voice to a minimum.

"It's a waste of-YANG!" Ace screamed in alarm as Yang shoved him over the edge of the cliff and into the seawater below. He entered the water and dropped like a rock, quickly reaching the bottom. Ace was fairly good at holding his breath, so he wasn't in any immediate danger. In a few minutes, however, he would drown. _Goddammit Yang_ , Ace thought in exasperation. Not being able to do much else, Ace counted the air bubbles that came out of his mouth and nose. _They'll rescue me eventually_.

"He's not coming up." Ruby observed from the top of the cliff.

"Give him a minute. Sometimes the only way for someone to learn how to swim is by pushing them into the water." Yang said as she waited patiently. Seconds turned into minutes, and Ace still hadn't surfaced. The blonde haired girl grew a little anxious.

"You know what, he's not gonna swim. Go get dad," Yang said as she jumped into the water. Ruby jogged off to go get the adults while Yang searched the sea floor for Ace. She finally found him lying near the base of the cliff. She quickly resurfaced, took a deep breath of air, and swam down to pick Ace up. Speaking of Ace…

 _567...568...569...570 air bubbles._ Ace thought to himself. He was starting to get a little lightheaded, and it was getting harder for him to not breathe in water. He felt the water above him ripple as a pair of hands grabbed his arm and pulled him up to the surface. He took several deep breaths of air when his head finally broke the surface of the water.

"You okay?" Yang asked as she used one hand to swim them to the shore.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now do you believe that it's a waste of time to try to teach me to swim?" Ace asked as he felt the the sandy beach hit his toes. He let Yang drag him further away from the water while his energy was still coming back to him.

"I didn't know you'd get all weak." Yang said defensively. At this point Ace had regained enough of his strength to stand on his own. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ruby and the adults jog up to them.

"You okay Ace?" Taiyang asked.

"Yeah I'm good." Ace said with a smile. "Just don't ever make me swim in saltwater again."

"Why do you get weak when you go into saltwater?" Ruby asked out of curiosity. "Seems like an awfully specific weakness." The silver eyed girl asked. Ace froze, not knowing what to say.

"Uhh…" Ace began as he tried to find a way to explain his weakness without giving away his devil fruit powers. He looked at Qrow and silently asked for help.

"Ace must have sensitive eyes, and some salt from the water must have gotten in it…" Qrow lamely said. He mentally face palmed when he realized how stupid that sounded.

"Oh, okay." Ruby said. She turned around and walked towards the table where the food was, leaving a shocked Ace and Qrow. Yang eyed them suspiciously before running after her sister.

"You believe what Qrow said?" Yang asked her sister.

"Not for a second. What he said was stupid." Ruby said.

"Then why did you let them think you did?"

"You saw how Ace froze up. He doesn't feel comfortable telling us, so I won't press him." Ruby said. "Besides, he'll probably tell us eventually." Ruby said with a shrug of her shoulders. Yang nodded, slightly surprised that her socially awkward sister had been able to read the mood like that. The family had a quick snack of watermelon, as the meat wasn't done grilling.

"So, what do you guys want to do?" Ace asked as he finished off his twentieth slice of watermelon. Even though they've known about Ace's appetite for a long time, Ruby and Yang still weren't used to the amount of food Ace could consume.

"Want to play volleyball?" Yang offered. Taiyang had brought a net and ball if someone had gotten the urge to play.

"Sounds like fun. Want to join in Ruby?" Ace asked. Ruby nodded in agreement before all three children made their way to the set up volleyball net. It was quickly decided that Yang and Ruby would be on the same team. Ace wouldn't be at a disadvantage anyway. To make the game fair, Ace was holding back almost all his strength and speed, otherwise he would destroy the two girls.

"Heh, my kid is beating your kids." A drunker than normal Qrow said. Taiyang gave a careless shrug.

"Your kid has strength on par with most hunters Qrow." Taiyang said. "I bet he could beat you Qrow." Taiyang said, a small smirk appearing on his face. If he knew his former partner, which he did, Qrow would not take too kindly to this.

"Bullshit." Qrow said as he put down his beer. "Hey! It's my turn." Qrow said as he walked out onto the court. He wobbled slightly as he was still very much under the influence. He quickly took the ball from the sisters and shooed them away from the court. Ruby and Yang joined their father in watching the game. Even when drunk, Qrow was surprisingly coordinated with his movements. Coupled with the advanced physicality both players possessed, it made for a very entertaining game. Qrow eventually won when Ace slipped on the sand and missed the ball.

"Hah! And you said he could beat me!" Qrow said as he pointed a finger at his former teammate.

"Fine, you got me. Anyways, food's done if you guys wanna eat." Taiyang said as he put the finished food on the table.

Ace was nearly done with his second rack of ribs before Qrow and the girls had even made it to the table.

 **...2 Months Later, Signal Academy…**

"Hello to all the families out there. My name is Professor Bowie, and joining me today is Professor Caesar." Bowie said into a microphone. He and Caesar were currently in an announcer's booth built into the ceiling. Below them was the arena Signal used for such events. It was packed with people who wanted to see the school-wide tournament.

"Thank you for that introduction Bowie. Now, to give you a quick recap, we are in the final round of our tournament, and let me tell you, what a tournament it has been!" Caesar said as a giant screen replayed the highlights of the evening. "Our students have made us proud with their performance, especially our young fifth year student Cobalt. Though he lost, he put up one heck of a show against the seventh year student Linen." Caesar said.

"With Cobalt's elimination, the final positions are being held by all seventh year students, or should I say _almost_ all." Bowie said with a chuckle.

"That's right Bowie. Of all fighters tonight, none has garnered a greater reputation than Portgas D. Ace himself! This young boy has stunned the audience with unmatched strength and speed. He is displaying a level of cunning that matches any hunter ten years his senior." Caesar said as a highlight reel showed all of Ace's victories.

"It also helps that he had his own dedicated cheering section." Bowie said with a chuckle as a video of Taiyang, Ruby, and Yang waving various flags with Ace's name on it was shown.

"Enough about that. We know go to our final match. Speak of the devil, it's Ace versus Linen!" Caesar said as Ace and Linen made their way onto the arena. Ace was wearing his characteristic hat along with a form fitting tank top. On his legs were black shorts and on his feet were his moccasin-like shoes. The red eyed boy looked over his opponent.

He could immediately tell that it was a girl. She had pale, almost white, yellow hair in a pixie cut. She had a light skin tone along with blue eyes. She was wearing a white long sleeve shirt with one of the sleeves cut off. Over her shirt she had a small short sleeve bolero jacket. She was wearing a white combat skirt with light gray stockings going down her legs. On her feet were white high heeled shoes.

Ace had seen her fight before, so he knew that her weapon was a giant throwing star. She had tied a line of linen from the star to her arm, so she could control the star's trajectory somewhat. The linen also served other purposes as well, but now was not the time to say.

"You beat my buddy Cobalt." Ace conversationally said.

"He did an okay job." inen said as she unstrapped the throwing star from her back. Ace still didn't have a weapon so he raised his fists in preparation. The timer was started as both fighters prepared themselves.

3…

2…

1…

The green light was given and both combatants instantly met on the middle of the arena. Ace dodged a barrage of slices sent at him and retaliated by sending a kick at Linen's mid-section. She blocked the first kick but couldn't react fast enough when Ace quickly kicked out with his other leg. She ducked under a third kick and jumped back a couple of meters. She then threw her weapon at Ace. The throwing star created sparks wherever the edge hit the arena floor as it made its way towards Ace. The younger fighter jumped over the weapon and made a grab for the linen connecting it to its huntress. Before he could grab it, Linen pulled her arm back, jerking the star in Ace's direction.

Ace grit his teeth in pain as the giant throwing star slammed into his lower back. He rolled forwards and lashed out with a kick at Linen's knee. The girl jumped and readied to throw her star again. Ace quickly jumped and grabbed her before she could throw her star. He twisted his body in midair and slammed Linen into the ground. He lashed out with his foot, intent on crushing Linen with his heel. The girl rolled out of the way right as Ace's heel created a small crater on the ground. Linen threw her star again.

Ace did a quick estimate before jumping and drop kicking the star to the floor. He then grabbed the linen line and yanked his opponent towards him. The girl found herself victim to a brutal combo of punches from Ace. The male combatant kicked upwards and nailed Linen right in her chin. As her weapon was still trapped under Ace's foot, Linen didn't go flying upwards. Instead her head snapped upwards as her body was forced to take the brunt of the attack.

Linen surprised Ace by recovering quickly and kicking him in his midsection. Ace was sent stumbling off the throwing star. Linen picked it up and charged, intent on engaging in CQC. She sent slashes in very quick succession at Ace. The young boy dodged each strike and sent his own barrage of punches at Linen. What followed was an intense three minutes of dodging and attacking. Linen finally ended the stalemate by jumping backwards and throwing her weapon at Ace.

Ace narrowly dodged the star strike, but wasn't prepared when Linen suddenly appeared in front of him and wrapped some of her linen around Ace's neck. Before he could counter attack, Linen retrieved her star and threw it up where it wrapped several times around a ceiling beam. In less than two seconds, Ace found himself hanging off the ground and being strangled.

"Yield." Linen said as Ace struggled to find any kind of leverage. He kicked his feet out, trying to get to the linen line his opponent was holding. He could feel himself slowly suffocating. He desperately grabbed at the linen line that went up to the ceiling and tried pulling it down. Had he been on the ground and properly tensed, Ace could have brought down the star with minimum difficulty. However, Ace was oxygen deprived and had no leverage whatsoever.

"I said yield." Linen commanded as she tightened the linen wrapped around Ace's neck. The red eyed boy gagged as his dwindling oxygen supply was cut off even more. At this point he was in the beginning stages of losing consciousness. Desperate to find a way out, Ace surprised Linen by grabbing the line that led up to the ceiling and biting it. Ace pulled and bit with all his might until the linen line snapped! The female combatant gasped in shock. For Ace to have been able to tear it with strength alone…

Ace took deep breaths as he fell to the floor. He looked at his opponent and smirked.

"Surprised? Let's see you fight without your weapon." Ace said before charging at Linen. She gulped when she realized that Ace was right. She had almost no experience fighting without her weapon while Ace had been fighting with his bare hands for two years. Not one to give up, Linen timidly sank into a combat stance she had learned when she was a first year student.

Ace rushed Linen and delivered a right jab to her shoulder, followed by a kick to her inner knee. Linen suddenly found herself off balance and in no position to attack. Before she could right herself, Ace elbowed her in her stomach before pulling her head down and driving his knee into hr face. Linen stumbled back as she growled in frustration. Without her weapon, Linen just couldn't compete with Ace. She charged and delivered a few kicks of her own, though Ace easily dodged each of them. They both knew that Linen was now fighting a losing battle. It wasn't a matter of if Ace would win, but of when he would win.

Ace slapped aside one of Linen's kicks and closed the distance between them. He then mercilessly slammed his knee into her stomach. A dull thud was heard throughout the arena as Linen gave a small groan. She stood still for a few seconds before slumping down on Ace's shoulder. Ace caught her without too much difficulty. He placed her arm around his shoulder and helped her off of the arena. The announcers stared down at Ace on confusion.

"Where's he going? He's supposed to stay so that we could announce him as victor." Bowie said.

"Let him help his fellow student. He'll come back." Caesar said. While most of the crowd was confused as to why Ace had left the arena to help Linen, the Rose/Xiao Long family just chuckled in amusement.

"That's Ace for ya." Yang said to no one in particular.

"You sure were hard to beat. I honestly thought I was going to lose when you were choking me out." Ace said.

"Yeah… you really can… hit hard." Linen said as she clutched her stomach.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Ace said with a nervous chuckle. "You know, I could get your weapon down for you if you want." The red eyed boy said as he helped Linen sit down on a bench.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get it once the huge urge to vomit has gone down." Linen said, still clutching her stomach. "You should probably go back out there. You left before they could announce you as winner you know." Linen said. She was honestly surprised that Ace would ignore the fact he had just won the tournament so that he could help her first.

"I guess I should. Thanks for the amazing match." Ace said as he turned around and walked back to the arena.

"I can see why they called you a prodigy." Linen said to herself once Ace had gone. The red eyed boy re-entered the arena only to be met with huge applause.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the winner of the tournament, Portgas D. Ace!" Bowie enthusiastically said into the microphone. Ace laughed as he waved to the crowd. Being the protector for the tournament, Qrow walked onto the stage to give Ace his prize, which was trophy shaped like Vale's symbol and a medal with the same symbol engraved into it.

"Good job kid. Didn't doubt ya for a second." Qrow said as he gave Ace a fist bump. The red eyed boy scanned the crowd and quickly found Yang, Ruby, and Taiyang cheering for him. He waved at them with one hand while holding up the trophy with the other.

 **...After Everyone Had Left…**

"That was amazing! She was all like chop! Slash! And you were all like Punch! Kick! Knee to the gut!" Ruby said as she reenacted the battle. The small family was currently walking back to their house. Ruby was wearing Ace's medal while Yang was inspecting his trophy.

"When she was choking you I almost thought you were going to lose! But then you were all like Bite! Chomp!" Ruby said as she exaggeratedly bit at the air.

"It kind of hurt my jaw." Ace said as he inspected his hat for any damages.

"Let tis be a lesson to you girls, it's always okay to bite your opponent's weapon." Qrow jokingly said from the back of the group. Taiyang elbowed his former teammate in the side before adding his own comment.

"Don't actually do that. Chances are other people's weapons will be pointier and made of harder stuff." Taiyang said.

"Speaking of weapons, have you two decided what yours will be?" Qrow asked.

"Oh yeah, I got mine all figured out." Yang said as grinned. "Shotgun gauntlets are definitely the way to go." The blonde haired girl said as she carried the trophy in one hand and punched the air with the other. Qrow chuckled in amusement.

"What about you Ace?" Taiyang asked. Ace adopted a pensive look on his face.

"I don't really know." Ace finally said. "I'm not used to fighting with a weapon." Ace said. Taiyang, Ruby, and Yang thought he was just talking about his time at Signal. Qrow, however, knew he was talking about the way he had fought in his past life.

"Gonna have to choose soon kid. You can't be a hunter and go in fists a-blazing." Qrow said while chuckling at the joke he had made. Ace gave Qrow a small scowl. _Sometimes I regret telling him that I was Fire Fist Ace_.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." Ace said. "Right now I want to go home and get something to eat." Ace said.

"No surprise there." Yang said as she gave Ace's arm a playful punch.

 **...Beacon Academy, Two Hours Later…**

"... That is a very unorthodox way of disarming your opponent." Ozpin muttered to himself as he reviewed Ace's tournament fights.

"Glynda?" Ozpin called out. His blonde haired companion entered a few seconds later.

"Yes, Ozpin?" Glynda asked.

"It seems that our young Ace will not be able to find the challenge we need on his own. We're going to have step in if we want to observe his unique abilities." Ozpin said as he folded his hands on the desk.

"What do you want me to do?" Glynda asked.

"I want you to start looking through the other kingdoms and find an opponent close to his age and skill." Ozpin said.

"I've heard that Mistral has a few up and coming prodigies of their own." Glynda added. "I don't see why we need to go to all this trouble though. Couldn't we just send one of our professors to attack him?" Glynda asked.

"It is a safety precaution Glynda. Based off the reports Qrow gave me, this boy has a tremendous amount of destructive potential. I don't want him to feel threatened to the point where he releases that potential on his attacker. I want to see his fire abilities without endangering anyone." Ozpin said.

"And if we can't find anyone to match him?" Glynda asked. She had seen Ace's fight clips, and knew that finding someone who could equal him would be a challenge all on its own.

"Then I suppose I will test his abilities personally." Ozpin said as he gave his colleague a small smile. It was meant as a joke, but, when Ozpin thought about it, it would make more sense for him to fight Ace than one of his professors. After all, he would stand a far better chance at controlling the boy if the fight got out of hand.

"I'll get started on the search." Glynda said as she exited Ozpin's office. Ozpin sat in silence for a few minutes, mulling over the latest batch of Ace's fight clips.

"Would it be more beneficial if I tested him personally?" Ozpin asked himself. He got up and gave his cane a few test swings. _It's been awhile since I've had a good workout_ , Ozpin thought to himself.

 _ **A/N: Hello to all. Here is the latest chapter, as promised, though it was a few days late of the two week deadline I set. Please excuse my tardiness, College applications have taken up a big majority of my time.**_

 _ **In case you all haven't noticed, this chapter is longer than all my other chapters by a good bit. Consider it a gift. Why a gift, you may ask? The answer is simple.**_

 _ **We are over 100 favorites and follows. That is just incredible. You people have been so supportive of this fic that it blows my mind. I really do appreciate it. Being a longer chapter, more stuffed was crammed into it. There are obviously issues that I should address.**_

 _ **Qrow adopting Ace for one. I could have had Taiyang adopt him, but that would technically make Ace and Yang siblings. Considering the pairing is AcexYang, I'd rather not deal with that issue once it comes up. I also like to think that Qrow has grown attached to Ace. I understand if some of you think that Qrow was a little OOC in his speech about why he wanted to adopt Ace. To be honest, I had some difficulty writing that part. I really wanted Ace and Qrow to have a little moment of their own, which led to Qrow's OOCness. Bottom line, Ace is Qrow's son now. Don't expect Ace to call Qrow dad, don't expect Qrow to call Ace son, and don't expect Ace to be Branwen D. Ace from now on. If they do do it, it's because they're joking about it.**_

 _ **I honestly did not like how the whole Sally leaving part turned out. It just felt rushed to me. Sally was never going to be a major character, but I felt as if I could have done her a little more justice in that scene. She won't be featuring very much in the story from now on, nor will any other OC I create. As much as you may want to see Barry the pyrotechnics guy and Richard the police officer again, it's not happening.**_

 _ **Now, you probably could have guessed from the story, but my Ace has killed people, a lot of people. Killing kind of comes with the job of being a pirate. This will lead to a few moral dilemmas for Ace. Killing in the One Piece world is not a very big thing. People get away with it all the time. In Remnant, however, killing is not so desensitized. Had those protestors been in the One piece universe, Ace would have killed them without a second thought.**_

 _ **Ace wished Luffy a happy birthday, yeah that was neat.**_

 _ **Did you all see the very vague romance in this chapter? Don't worry people, the groundwork is being laid! Yang is developing feelings that she can't explain right now, she's being more sentimental around him, and Ace is drawing attention from other girls, which Yang doesn't like. The next chapter should have some more, though it will still be minor.**_

 _ **You know what else is coming next chapter? Weapons! I have thought long and hard about what to give Ace. He is getting a weapon, there's no doubt about that, but what it should be remains to be seen. You know what else is coming next chapter? Ruby's first day at Signal! That is going to be a hoot and a half to write about.**_

 _ **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review if you have the time. It really helps morale to know what the audience is thinking. I will see you all next chapter.**_

 _ **Until then.**_

 _ **Next Chapter Sneak Peak:**_

"Why is Yang so agitated?" Taiyang asked. Qrow smirked in response.

"Something happened at school that really bugged her." Qrow said as he thought back to what he had seen in class.

"What happened?" The blonde haired man asked.

"Don't worry about it Tai. All you need to know is that Ace has been attracting a lot of attention at school." Qrow said as he chuckled.


	6. Chapter 6

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 6: Weapons, Tournaments, A Side Project, And A Hypocrite(Me)

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

… **3 Months Later(Give or take a few), Signal…**

"Well, you did it." Yang said.

"You waited patiently and stuck it out." Ace said.

"Welcome to Signal!" Both thirteen year olds said at the same time. Behinds them was the small, eleven year old form of Ruby. She was literally hopping with excitement.

"Yes! What're we waiting for!? Let's get to class!" The young girl said as she dashed through the entrance. Yang and Ace exchanged amused looks before following her inside. Having been at Signal for over 2 years now, Yang and Ace were very familiar with the building. They led Ruby to her locker and showed her where all her classes were. They walked Ruby to her first class and told her they'd see her during lunch.

"You think she'll be fine?" Yang asked as she and Ace walked down the hall to their first class of the day. She knew Ruby was old enough to take care of herself for a few hours, but it was her job as an older sister to worry about her.

"This is what she's wanted for a long time Yang, she'll be fine." Ace reassuringly said. They entered their first class of the day, which was weapon workshop with Qrow. As the name suggested, the classroom was a workshop filled with all the tools students would need to build their weapons. They quickly sat down in the front row as Qrow walked in, weapon in hand.

"This year, you'll all be forging your own weapons. Remember, your weapon reflects who you are, it's an extension of yourself. As such, copying some other hunter's weapon part for part is not a very good idea." Qrow said. "Before we start any of the actual building, you kids will have to draw your own schematics. We'll also have to go over safety procedures and all that, but all you really need to know is to point the part that's either pointy or on fire away from everyone else." Qrow finished. He passed out paper so students could do some sort of rough draft before finalizing their design on a computer.

"Still don't know what you're going to build?" Yang asked, not looking up from the firing mechanism she was drawing.

"Nah, Qrow helped me figure out what I'm gonna build." Ace said as he started drawing mechanisms and gears at a fast rate.

"So, what're you building?" Yang asked as she briefly looked up from her sketch.

"Gonna have to wait and find out." Ace said with a smile. Yang gave him an annoyed look before going back to her drawing. Ace absentmindedly hummed to himself as he recalled his conversation with Qrow

… **2 Weeks Earlier…**

" _So?" Qrow asked. In front of him Ace was experimenting with Qrow's weapon._

" _The weight isn't a problem if that's what you're asking." Ace said as he swung the scythe form of Qrow's weapon. The older hunter had to admit, Ace was suprisingly good at wielding it even though he's never had any experience using a scythe._

" _I can see why you chose your weapon, but it's honestly not really my style." Ace said as he changed the scythe back into a sword. "I don't really need a blade that big." The red eyed boy said._

" _With your strength, even a knife would make mincemeat of any Grimm," Qrow said as he nodded in understanding._

" _Right, plus you need to use both hands to wield it effectively. I'd rather have a weapon that can be used single handedly. Maybe two weapons." Ace said before sighing in frustration. "I only have a vague idea of what I want." The thirteen year old said._

" _You're getting closer kid. What do you think you're going to do about the gun form?" Qrow asked._

" _It's definitely going to be high caliber." Ace said. "Low caliber won't do jack against most Grimm(COUGHRenCOUGH). I also know it's going to be semi-automtic. If I want rapid fire, I got this." Ace said as he made a gun shape with his hand, the end of his finger turning into fire. "I know I don't want anything as bulky as a sniper rifle, but I also don't want something small like a pistol." Ace said as he placed his head in his hands. "My head is starting to hurt." The boy complained._

" _You're not as far from your target weapon as you think." Qrow said as he reasurringly patted Ace on the back. "You have all the ideas there, you just don't know how to execute them." Qrow said before an idea came to him. "Wait right here." Qrow said as he entered the house. He exited a couple minutes later with a stack of something._

" _Look through these." Qrow said as he handed Ace the pile._

" _What are they?"_

" _Ruby's weapon magazines." Qrow answered. Realization dawned on Ace's face as he quickly looked through each magazine._

" _Maybe this… combine it with that… no that won't work… this probably could… but it'd be to awkward to weild… hmmm." Ace paused as he looked at something in particular. "This should do just fine." Ace said with a satisfied smile. Qrow looked over his shoulder in curiosity. Ace pointed out what he was going to do._

" _Now that is going to be a good weapon, especially when you put dust in it." Qrow said as he smiled in pride at what Ace had been able to come up with. "See? That wasn't so hard." The older hunter commented._

" _This wasn't the hard part Qrow. The hard part is going to be leaning to fight with it." Ace said as he picked up the magazines and took them to Ruby's room._

 **...Present Time…**

"Dust goes in here… trigger there… blade there… and I'm done." Ace said to himself as he inspected his diagrams. Now that he knew what he was building, Ace didn't have any trouble designing it. Satisfied with what he had come up with, Ace called Qrow over to inspect it.

"Yep, seems good enough. Sure you don't want a scythe? You could really wreck shit up if you had one." Qrow said as he handed Ace his diagrams.

"Maybe when I'm older." Ace said as put his diagrams away. Seeing that he had a few minutes left before class ended, Ace took a closer look at all the tools in the workshop. _Woodworking, Forge, saws, and power tools_ , Ace mentally checked off. He grinned with excitement when he realized he had everything he needed to build a little side project he had in mind. He quickly called Qrow over again.

"Mind if I work on a little side project?" Ace asked.

"What kind of project?" Qrow said in response.

"It's not a second set of weapons if that's what you're wondering. It's just something I've really wanted to build for a long time now." Ace said, deliberately not giving away too much information.

"All the tools and supplies are for student use, so I don't see why not. As long as you aren't building some mass destruction device, go nuts." Qrow said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Can I bring in my own supplies?" Ace asked, growing more excited by the second.

"Yep, now if you'll excuse me, another student needs me." Qrow said as he gave Ace a fist bump before walking to the student who had his hand raised. Ace took out another piece of paper and started designing at an even faster rate than he had done with his weapon.

"What's your side project?" Yang asked, having heard Ace and Qrow's conversation.

"That, my dear friend Yang, is also a secret." Ace said. Yang lightly scowled in annoyance.

"Can you at least give me a hint?" She asked.

"Only I'll be able to use it." Ace cryptically said. Knowing that Ace wasn't going to say anymore, Yang quickly finished her diagrams and designs; Qrow approved of her designs a few seconds later. Most students took at least two days to finish their diagrams. Yang, on the other hand, had already had most of her weapon planned out, so it was fairly easy for her to put it on paper. After deciding on what he was going to build, Ace did some intense studying during those two weeks to be able to finish his design early. The bell rang a few minutes later, and Yang and Ace separated to go to different classes.

"After this, you're going to have aura Yang." Ace said in the hallway.

"I know right?" Yang said as she skipped a little out of sheer happiness. She was going to her combat class next, which meant her aura was about to be unlocked.

"Let's do some sparring after school." Ace said.

"Definitely. Hope you're ready to have your ass kicked." Yang said as she adopted a cocky smile.

"What makes you think that you can accomplish what even Signal's best couldn't?" Ace said. He quickly bid Yang farewell and went to his class, which was basic Grimm studies.

 **...Lunch…**

"... and that, my dear Ruby, is how I got the school to let me eat all the food I want." Ace said as he finished his tale. He took a big bite out of the leg of ham in front of him. To his right as a precariously stacked pillar of plates that Ace had eaten food off of.

"Really?" Ruby asked in wonder. "How did you manage to beat six students at once?" The red haired girl asked in awe.

"It wasn't as hard as you think. They weren't very good at teamwork. Besides, I'm me." Ace answered, as though the simple statement that he was Ace answered why he beat a group of students. "Because I proved that I'm six times better than the students, I got the right to eat six times as many servings as them." Ace said as he finished the rest of his ham leg. He had just begun working on the roasted turkey to his left when Yang plopped herself down at their table.

"Where've you been?" Ace asked through a mouthful of turkey.

"I caused some problems in Grimm studies, so I had to stay after to talk to the teacher."Yang said as she took a sip of her milk. "Some kids thought that all Grimm were born with bone armor, but I know for a fact young ones don't have any." Yang said upon seeing the questioning gazes of her friends. They were all briefly reminded of the first time they ever met, and the first ever Grimm Ace had killed.

"The other kid doesn't believe me, so we start an argument. It got to the point where we yelled at each other in the middle of class." Yang finished as she reached over and took a leg out of Ace's turkey.

"Only the first day of the year and you've already caused problems Yang." Ruby whined in exasperation.

"That's nothing. I got into a fist fight with my professor on my first day." Ace nonchalantly said. Before Ruby could tell Ace to explain, Yang spoke up.

"Enough about us. How's your first day going Rubes?" Yang asked.

"It's… okay." Ruby said as she rubbed her arm. "Don't get me wrong. The kids are nice enough, and the teachers are polite. It's just that… I guess I was expecting a little more excitement." Ruby finished.

"By excitement you mean more weapons, aura, and combat?" Yang asked. Ruby nodded in agreement. "Don't worry my dear sister. What you're feeling is exactly what I felt my first day. Things won't pick up for a while Ruby, so might as well get used this." Yang said as she patted her younger sister on the back.

"It's so boring though. How'd you deal with the boredom Ace?" Ruby asked.

"I'm the wrong person you should be asking Ruby." Ace said . To his right was the carcass of the turkey he had eaten. "I was fighting students older than me since day one. I was never bored." Ace said as he scanned the table for any more food.

"I'll tell you what I did Rubes. I stuck it out. You've got three years ahead of you before you get aura and a weapon. Whining won't make time go faster." Yang said as she gave Ruby a sympathetic smile.

"I guess being a huntress-in-training won't always be action packed and exciting." Ruby sadly said. "If it'l help me be a hero, then I'll stick out like you said Yang." Ruby finished, adopting a content smile.

 **...Later That Day…**

"Show me! Show me! Show me!" Ruby commanded as she, Ace, and Yang walked home.

"Alright Ruby. Ace?" Yang asked as she adopted a proud smile. Ace raised his fist and lightly, for him, punched Yang in the face. The blonde haired girl took a few steps to the right from the force of the blow.

"Ta-Da!" Yang said as she showed her face, which was completely devoid of any damage. "Man, aura is the best." Yang commented as she made a fist and jabbed at the air. "Hope you're ready to lose Ace." Yang mocked as she lightly slugged Ace's arm.

"Yang, I've had over six years of experience using aura. Not only have I technically stalemated a professor, I regularly fight students who are older than me and win, even without a weapon." Ace said as he touched his hat in pride. "Do you really think you'll beat me on your first try?" Ace asked, giving Yang a smirk that just screamed confidence and power.

Yang, for some reason she couldn't fathom, found herself blushing ever so slightly when Ace smiled at her. _I did it again, what the Hell is going on with me?_ The blonde haired girl silently asked herself. This hadn't been the first time that Ace had done something that made her blush. Why it made her blush, she didn't have the slightest idea.

"Yang?" Ruby asked.

"Huh?" Yang said in confusion, having just been brought oout of her musings.

"You haven't said anything for like, the past twenty seconds." Ruby answered.

"Oh… uh… let's just get home. I want to fight Ace." Yang said as she tried to cover up her embarrassment. Ace and Ruby nodded and said nothing else all the way home. Once home, the trio put their stuff away before going out to the backyard for Ace and Yang's sparring match.

"Ready?" Yang asked.

"Whenever you are." Ace said with a grin. Yang tensed before rushing at Ace. Right off the bat, Ace could tell Yang wasn't used to her new strength and speed. The blonde haired girl made a fist and swung at Ace's face. The red eyed boy easily telegraphed the attack and moved backwards to avoid the hit. Yang quickly brought up her other fist, which Ace easily dodged. The young girl tried to do a kick, but lost her balance in the process. She stumbled as she tried to regain said balance while Ace smiled in amusement.

"Kicking isn't really your thing. I'd stick to punches if I were you." Ace said as Yang charged him again. To someone of Ace's caliber, Yang might as well have been moving in slow motion. The thirteen year old boy evaded each attack sent at him with ease. Understandably, Yang grew slightly frustrated.

"Stop moving so I can hit you!" Yang said as another one of her strikes was dodged.

"Careful what you wish for." Ace said as he completely stopped. Yang took her chance and threw the hardest punch she could at Ace's midsection. The red eyed boy didn't even flinch when Yang connected.

"Ow," Yang muttered as she retracted her hand and massaged it. "What are you, made of bricks or something?" She complained.

"Told you to be careful." Ace said as he walked over to where Yang was still massaging her fist.

"I thought having my aura unlocked would at least give me a chance." Yang said as she plopped herself on the ground. Ace sat down and joined her. For those wondering, Ruby had gone back inside to get refreshments for the three of them.

"Don't feel bad Yang. You could probably do better if you had a weapon. Most hunters fight with them for a reason, you know." Ace reassuringly said.

"You don't need a weapon." Yang pointed out.

"That's true, but I'm getting one anyway." Ace said in response. Seeing that Yang was still somewhat sad about her loss, Ace continued talking. "Listen, you've only had aura for a day. Don't feel too bad if you couldn't beat the best student at Signal on your first try. You know what they say, second or third time's the charm." Ace said as he laughed lightly.

"Somehow I feel like it's going to take me more than three tries to beat you." Yang said as she laughed along with Ace, having gotten over her loss.

"I have juice." Ruby declared as she exited the back door of her house. Juice Boxes could be seen being clutched in her arms. "Drink." Ruby commanded as she handed Ace and Yang a juicebox each. Ruby then sat down on the grass next to Ace and proceeded to drink her juice. Not wanting to disappoint Ruby, Yang and Ace drank their juice as well.

… **1 Week Later…**

"There, done." Ace said to himself as he checked the piece of metal he was working with. To his right Yang could be seen working on the trigger mechanism of her gauntlets. This involved putting them on and punching the air to check the amount of force needed to fire bullets. All around them various students could be seen working on weapons of their own.

"Now I just have to wait for the blades to finish cooling and I'll be all set to put it together." Ace said to himself. "How goes the trigger mechanism Yang?" Ace asked.

"I'm having a little trouble figuring out just how much force I need to make it fire." Yang said as she punched with her gauntlet again.

"Being a shotgun gauntlet, you're weapon is going to have a lot of recoil. I think that more force would help you compensate for that." Ace helpfully said.

"That's actually a good point. Thanks Ace." Yang said as she started recalibrating her weapon.

"Anytime." Ace said as he got up and went to check up on his blades. Before he could reach the forging area, he was stopped by one of the female students. This student was named Lapis, and her attire seemed to complement her name. She had bright blue hair along with bright blue eyes. She was wearing a deep blue mini skirt with an orphan blue belt. She had on a short sleeve button up up shirt, also blue, over a baby blue blouse. In simple terms, she was wearing a lot of blue.

"Hi Ace," Lapis said.

"Hey Lapis." Ace greeted back.

"Listen I'm having a little trouble with something. Could you help me out?" Lapis asked as she idly twirled her fingers. This got Yang's attention. Lapis was well known among the female students for being a bit bolder than most girls in her class. _What are you planning?_ Yang thought to herself as she gazed at Lapis suspiciously.

"Sure, whaddya need?" Ace said. Being the respectful person he is, Ace always helped anyone who asked him for it.

"Follow me." Lapis said as she led Ace to her workstation. "I need to take very precise measurements of this." Lapis said as she gestured to a thick bar of metal about a meter in length. "The table is getting in the way though. Could you lift it for me while I measure it?" Lapis asked as she grabbed a tape measurer.

"Sure." Ace said as he reached for the bar of metal. To his surprise, the bar was much heavier than it looked. He grabbed each end with one hand and lifted it up. Though Ace could lift much more than what the bar of metal weighed, he still found himself having to use more effort than he thought. This made sense as Lapis had purposefully chosen the heaviest, densest metal the workshop had.

"Could you hold it out a little more?" Lapis asked. Ace complied and held the bar at arm's length. Lapis took a moment to admire Ace's forearm muscles and biceps before ducking under the bar and getting into the space between the bar and Ace. From here, she practically pressed against Ace. Yang scowled as she realized what Lapis had planned.

"You have enough room to measure?" Ace asked, completely unaware of Lapis' ulterior motives.

"Yeah." Lapis said, a faint blush on her face. _This is pretty much a hug. I'm hugging Portgas D. Ace!_ Lapis mentally told herself as she took measurements at an agonizingly slow pace. Yang started being a little more… forceful in her calibrations. She also may or may not have punched in Lapis' general direction and fantasized about beating her face in. This did not go unnoticed by a certain alcoholic uncle.

"What do we have here?" Qrow told himself from the front of the class. "Looks like my little firecracker is starting to question her feelings towards my dear son." Qrow muttered to himself as he took a sip of the mug of coffee mixed with liquor on his desk. _Oh, I am going to have a blast teasing Yang once she realizes she has a crush on Ace_. Speaking of Yang…

 _Why. Does. This. Bother. Me. So. Much!?_ Yang mentally screamed to herself as she punched the air harder and harder. At this point, she had all the data she needed to calibrate the trigger mechanism, but punching the air was the only thing keeping her from yelling at Lapis. Yes, the way Lapis had manipulated Ace was not nice, but she technically wasn't doing anything wrong.

Yang was experiencing a myriad of feelings at once. Anger, disgust, and annoyance she got. What threw her off was that she was feeling a twinge of… jealousy? That couldn't be right. Why would Yang be jealous? It wasn't a mistake though. This was the exact same way Yang had felt about Ace having his aura unlocked years before her. There was no doubt about it. Yang was jealous. The blonde haired girl did not take too kindly on this revelation. For the rest of the day Yang was irritable and easily angered. She wouldn't even talk to Ace on the way home. She didn't even return her father's greeting. Yang just went straight to her room, leaving a confused Taiyang to talk to Qrow.

"Why is Yang so agitated?" Taiyang asked. Qrow smirked in response.

"Something happened at school that really bugged her." Qrow said as he thought back to what he had seen in class.

"What happened?" The blonde haired man asked.

"Don't worry about it Tai. All you need to know is that Ace has been attracting a lot of attention at school." Qrow said as he chuckled.

 **...1 Week Later...**

"Hurry up and show us!" Ruby practically yelled. The eleven year old was literally bouncing with excitement. She, along with Qrow, Taiyang, Ace, and Yang were currently in their backyard.

"Introducing Ember Cilica!" Yang announced as the yellow bracelets on her forearms extended into shotgun gauntlets. Qrow gave her a small clip of shotgun shells to show off her weapon.

"Remember, point it away from us." The older hunter reminded as he took a couple steps backwards. Yang nodded and aimed at the tree line.

"Ready?" Yang teasingly asked, purposely drawing out the moment to annoy Ruby.

"Yes! Shoot!" Ruby impatiently said. Yang cocked her fist back and threw a punch at the tree line. A loud bang echoed throughout the vicinity as the first few trees were shredded to pieces. Ruby practically had stars in her eyes as she gazed at the destruction.

"And that was just regular ammo. Wait till I get some dust in this baby." Yang bragged as she expelled the empty shell. "Wanna see something cool Ruby?" Yang asked her starstruck sister.

"Yes please." Ruby whispered. This had to be one of the greatest days of her life. Yang grinned as she jumped and punched downwards. The recoil sent her rocketing into the air.

"Woohoo!" Yang exclaimed once she had reached the end of her velocity.

"Need me to catch you?" Ace called up as Yang started falling back down.

"I got it." Yang said. She fired a couple more shotgun rounds downwards to slow her momentum down to the point where she landed safely on the ground.

"Well?" Yang asked the group in front of her.

"That was the greatest thing I've ever seen." Ruby whispered as she kept staring at Yang's gauntlets

"I really am proud of you Yang. You've made a fine weapon." Taiyang said as he ruffled his daughter's hair, much to Yang's chagrin.

"Dad, you're messing up my hair." Yang complained as she moved her head away from her father's hand.

"Well, we got one kid down. Now it's the other kid's turn." Qrow said as he gestured towards Ace.

"Yeah, what is your weapon Ace?" Ruby asked. The red eyed boy hadn't said anything about his weapon the entire time he was forging it. Even Yang didn't know what he had built, only that it had a couple of blades.

"I've kept you all waiting long enough." Ace said as he went inside to get his weapon. He stopped by his room and took his weapons out of their hiding place. He strapped them on and went downstairs, but waited a few seconds as he could hear everyone else talking outside.

"Wait, so you know what Ace's weapon is?" He could hear Yang ask.

"Of course, I helped him decide what it would be." Qrow said. Though he couldn't see it, Ace was willing to bet that Qrow was smiling in pride. Not wanting to keep them waiting any longer, Ace opened the door and walked outside. Any other conversation was immediately quelled.

"Well?" Qrow asked, his smile growing bigger. Ace put his hands behind his back, and pulled put two guns. The guns themselves vaguely resembled pirate firearms, but were mostly of modern design. Both were about 1.5 feet in length, but differed in color scheme. One was a straw yellow with red detailing along the barrel and hilt. If you were to look under the handle you would see a small straw hat engraved into the metal. The other one was a bright red in color with orange detailing similar to the yellow one. Engraved into the bottom of the handle was a spade.

"This is Straw," Ace said as he raised the yellow one, "and this is Spade." Ace said as he raised the bright red one. He pointed Spade at a tree and fired, having loaded the gun with ammo before hand. A loud bang was heard as the tree was cut in half, along with the one behind it.

"That's some pretty heavy firepower for a relatively small rifle." Taiyang commented as he gazed at the trees Ace had destroyed.

"Oh yeah, the recoil can be pretty intense. Luckily, I have more than enough strength to manage." Ace said as he blew away the smoke coming from the barrel. _I've always wanted to do that_ , Ace thought to himself. "That's not all I can do." Ace commented as he fastened the guns to his sides.

"Yes! More!" Ruby cheered as she fist pumped in excitement. Ace gripped the handles of his guns and clicked a button near where the handle met the rest of the gun. The handles straightened out with an audible whir of gears. Each gun clicked once before Ace pulled the handles away from the firearms. The small family heard a noise similar to a sword being pulled out of its sheath as Ace pulled the handles away. Connected to the gun handles were blades that had been housed in the gun. Both blades were a dark reddish orange, similar to what you would see in a particularly hot fire. The blades curved slightly near the top. The blades had started off small, but seemed to double in size as they were fully unsheathed. This did not go unnoticed.

"Hey, why did your swords double in size?" Ruby asked, having been the first to notice.

"Yeah, there's no way those could fit in your guns." Yang added.

"The blades are telescopic. They shorten to be able to fit into Straw and Spade." Ace said. The only way you could tell both blades apart was that one hilt was yellow and one was red. "It was a huge pain in the butt getting the blades just right." Ace commented as he made a few experimental swings with his swords.

"That is so amazing." Ruby said as she raised her hands in a hopeless attempt at touching the weapons.

"Yeah, the blades are pretty good at cutting stuff, but the real magic happens when you put some dust in." Ace said as he reached into his back pocket and took out two red dust crystals. He inserted one into the hilts of each sword and smiled when he saw his swords give off a faint red glow.

"Wanna see something cool?" Ace asked Ruby.

"Please?" Ruby said. Ace lifted one blade over his shoulder and concentrated. The red glow on the weapon started glowing brighter and brighter. The temperature got noticeably hotter as the blade started to shimmer, a clear sign of intense heat. Satisfied, Ace let out a yell as he slashed forwards with his weapon. A curved blade of fire instantly sprang from the slash and rocketed towards the tree line. The fire cut straight through the first few trees before losing its structural integrity. The flames lost all form and stuck to the trees still standing. In a few minutes there would be a raging forest fire.

"Don't worry, I got this." Qrow said as he he took out an ice crystal and threw it at the fire. He quickly turned his weapon into its gun form and shot the ice crystal. Every tree on fire was immediately covered in ice as the explosion rocketed outwards.

"I can also use the dust in gun form. That just lets me such a bunch of fire bullets." Ace commented as he re sheathed his swords. "Well, that was my weapon. Hope you liked it."

"It's amazing!" Ruby exclaimed. "The dust was so cool and the guns are awesome!" The silver eyed girl said as she ran up to Ace. "Can I hold one please?" Ruby asked as she gave Ace the puppy dog face he had mentioned a few months earlier.

"Ask your dad first." Ace said. He had no problem with letting Ruby hold his weapon. Heck, he'd even let her fire it if it was up to him. Taiyang, however, had final say in the matter.

"Can I dad?" Ruby called out.

"Just holding. You can't fire at anything." The blonde haired man called back. Ace unstrapped Straw from his side and flipped it so he was grabbing the barrel. He then offered the gun to Ruby, handle first. It was all Ruby could do to keep from squealing with expiration. She grabbed the hilt of the gun, and promptly fell to the ground when Ace let go.

"You're gun is really heavy." Ruby said as she used both hands to pick it up. Even then, it was obvious the gun was too much for Ruby to handle. Ace quickly took the gun away from Ruby, lest she hurt herself from just carrying it.

"It has to be Ruby. I'm loading sniper rifle grade ammunition into a small package. The frame need to be able to take the recoil." Ace said as he holstered Straw. "So, what do you think?" Ace asked as he looked at Qrow, Taiyang, and Yang.

"It makes a big boom and lights stuff on fire. What's not to like?" Yang said, grinning at the thought of fighting Ace with weapons.

"I like how you played to your strengths. Most normal huntsman and huntresses would never think to make a weapon like yours." Taiyang said. He walked up to Ace and extended his hand. "May I?" Taiyang politely asked.

"Sure." Ace replied as he unholstered Spade and handed it to Taiyang. The blonde haired man lifted and wielded the weapon with almost no effort at all.

"Ruby was right. This is a lot of weight for a small package." Taiyang said as he twirled the gun on his finger. "I am curious though. Why did you name them Straw and Spade?" Taiyang asked as he handed Ace back his gun.

"One of them is a play on my name. Ace of spades?" Ace said.

"Clever." Taiyang complemented.

"The other one I named Straw because I like straw." Ace said. It wasn't a complete lie. He did like straw for a reason. It's just that no one expect Ace and Qrow would know why he liked straw.

"Who doesn't like straw?" Qrow said as he took out his flask and took a quick swig. "Anyways you both did a pretty good job with your weapons. I can't wait to see you beat the stuffing out of the other students."

"May take me awhile, I still need to figure out a fighting style with these things." Ace said.

"It's not that hard. I can teach you mine if you want." Qrow offered. The older hunter had no doubt that Ace would be able to adapt his own fighting style to fit his own weapons.

"Maybe later. I kind of want to go clean out the trees we killed." Ace said as he pointed to the various trees he and Yang had felled. It kind of was a messy scene. "We are going to have a lot of firewood." Ace said as he made his way to the downed trees.

"I for one am not interested in clean up duty. You kids wanna go inside and play Kung Fu Ultimate Ninja Death Battle?" Qrow asked as he made his way inside, followed by Ruby and Yang.

"You need any help Ace?" Taiyang asked. Unlike his tipsy teammate, Tai was polite enough to offer people help.

"I got it." Ace said as he hefted one of the tree trunks on his shoulder. "You can go inside if you want." Ace said as he carried the tree towards the clearing that was their backyard. Taiyang nodded and went inside.

"This wood will do perfectly." Ace said to himself.

 **...3 Days Later…**

"Kid, when you said supplies I thought you meant paint and stuff, not a dozen tree trunks." Qrow said. In front of him Ace was stacking the trees he and Yang had shot down three days prior. Qrow and Ace were the only ones in the workshop as it was a saturday, therefore no school.

"Too late to say no. They're already here." Ace said as he brought in the last tree trunk. "I'm going to need all of this for my side project." The red eyed boy said.

"You gonna tell me what it is you're building?" Qrow asked as he watched Ace pick up a log and take it to the woodworking table.

"Trust me, you'll be able to guess soon enough." Ace said as he began sawing the log into planks.

 **...3 Weeks Later…**

"The main frame is done, now all I have to do is fire proof the wood and put together the main engine." Ace said to himself as he finished nailing in the last plank. He had stayed after school to continue working on his project. "Hopefully the engine works just fine." Ace muttered as he went to the table that had all the pieces of the engine that had yet to e put together. Ace had done all he could from memory, but even then he had to guess on some parts as he couldn't remember what went there originally.

 **...1 Week Later…**

"It fits perfectly but now I have to test if it will run correctly." Ace told himself as he gazed at his finished project. The workshop was located on the side of the school so that they could quickly weel in supplies and other items. They did this through a retracting door located on the wall that led outside. Ace pulled the lever which retracted the door. He wheeled in a large cart and loaded his project into it. The then took the cart's handle and wheeled it all the way to the coast, but not before closing the retracting door.

"Now to see if it floats." Ace said as he pushed his project into the water. "It does indeed float. Will the engine work." Ace said as he stepped into his project. This was the moment of truth. He switched to his logia body and turned his feet into fire. A propeller like noise was heard as the fire successfully powered the engine. The project went sailing forwards at high velocity as Ace cheered in success.

"I'm not landlocked anymore!" Ace cheered as he raised his hands in triumph. His project was almost an exact replica of the personal boat he had back in his old life. He had designed the boat himself in his past life, so he had manage to retain most of the information needed to make a new one. With this boat Ace would finally be able to leave Patch and explore all of Remnant. Ace stopped cheering when a buzzing noise was heard from his pocket. He stopped the boat and took out his scroll. He and Yang had been given scrolls a few days earlier. Ace looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Yang.

"Hello?" Ace said as he answered the call.

"Ace you need to get home now. Some important looking lady wants to see you." Yang answered.

"I'll be there in fifteen." Ace said as he hung up and steered his new boat towards the shore. He tied it to a rock behind the cliff so no one would be able to see it and went home. Upon entering he found Qrow, Taiyang, the sisters, and some blonde woman sitting in the living room.

"You must be Ace." The blonde woman said as she got up and offered her hand to shake.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are." Ace said as he shook the blonde woman's hand.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and I'm here with an offer." The now named Glynda said.

"Okay, what kind of offer?" Ace cautiously asked. The woman gestured for him to sit down, so Ace sat down between Yang and Ruby. "Tell me, have you heard of the Mistral tournament?" Glynda asked.

"I know it happens in Mistral and that it's supposed to be for elite hunters and huntresses in training, but other than that I don't know anything." Ace said.

"I work for someone fairly important. He saw a recording of your fight against Linen, and was very impressed. He sees a lot of potential in you Ace, so he sent me with an offer. He is offering you a spot in this years upcoming Mistral Tournament." Glynda finished. Ace's eyes widened in shock, along with Ruby, Yang, and Taiyang.

"This has to be a mistake. The tournament is only for the best of the best." Ace argued, unable to comprehend that someone would offer him a spot in a world renown tournament.

"That is exactly why you are being offered this position Ace. You are among the best this generation has to offer." Glynda said as she gave Ace a small smile. "This offer includes an all expenses paid trip to Mistral. Should you accept, you and your family would be staying at one of the best hotels Mistral has to offer." Taiyang noticeably perked up when he heard that. "The hotel has a complimentary all you can eat buffet." Ace drooled slightly when Glynda mentioned that. "Not only will you be in the vicinity of some of the best weapon museums in all of Remnant, the hotel has a spa that will cater to your every need." Yang and Ruby grinned for different reasons.

"Of course, no one is forcing you to participate. It's okay if you don't want to accept." Glynda said.

"Could we get a few minutes to discuss this?" Taiyang asked.

"Of course. I will be waiting right outside." Glynda said as she opened the door and went outside.

"You better say yes Ace." Yang instantly said once Glynda had gone outside

"Do it Ace! For the weapons!" Ruby said as she shook Ace's shoulder.

"I could use a vacation. Hint, hint, nudge, nudge." Taiyang said, obviously trying to persuade Ace.

"I for one think it's a bad idea." Qrow suddenly spoke up. Everyone looked at him in confusion. "Think about it. Some lady we don't know is offering Ace a spot in one of the most prestigious tournaments in all of Remnant. Doesn't that sound a little fishy?" Qrow said. Taiyang was about to say that both he and Qrow knew who Glynda was, but Qrow continued talking. "Besides, the kids have never been outside of Patch. They could get lost in Mistral and-"

"Did I mention the bar is also complimentary?" Glynda suddenly said from behind the closed door.

"-And I think it would be a good learning experience for the kids. Say yes Ace." Qrow said. The vote was fairly unanimous, so they called Glynda back inside.

"Have you reached a decision?" Glynda asked.

"I guess I'll fight in the Mistral Tournament." Ace casually said.

"Wonderful. Your flight leaves in one month's time, so I suggest you start packing and making arrangements." Glynda said. "Well, I've done all I need to do. I id you all good day." Glynda said as she moved towards the door.

"I'll walk you out." Qrow suddenly said. He followed Glynda outside.

"What were you doing in there!?" Glynda growled once they had gone outside.

"What did I do?" Qrow asked as he innocently raised his hands up.

"We went over the plan. You weren't supposed to say that you didn't want Ace to go. You were supposed to encourage him." Glynda said as she jabbed a finger in Qrow's chest. "You could have jeopardized the entire operation."

"I'm sorry. I just thought that someone saying no would be more dramatic." Qrow said as he reached for his flask.

"Bring out the damned flask and I _will_ throw you off a cliff." Glynda said as she menacingly got out her riding crop. Qrow slowly brought his hand away from his flask and put both hands in the air. "Qrow, from here on out I'm going to need you to be a bit more serious, at least until after the tournament is over." Glynda asked as her ever present scowl briefly changed into a pleading frown. Qrow may be an asshole, but he was still decent enough to grant Glynda this one wish.

"Alright, I'll follow orders until the end of the tournament. After that, It's back to my usual self." Qrow said.

"Thank you Qrow. I'll see you in Mistral one month from now." Glynda said before turning around walking away from the house.

… **1 Month Later…**

"Ace will be staying in this room," A hotel employee said, "Ruby and Yang in this one, and the adults in this one." The hotel lady said as she gestured to three consecutive rooms in a hallway.

"Hang on, why does Ace get his own room?" Qrow asked. Judging from the bottle of alcohol in his hand, he had already made a brief visit to the bar.

"Oh, well that was the arrangement made." The hotel lady nervously said.

"I'm not sure how happy I am with that arrangement."Qrow said, his speech slightly slurred. The hotel lady was visibly uncomfortable by Qrow being drunk.

"Ignore him ma'am. Thank you for showing us to our rooms." Taiyang said as he shoved Qrow into their room. The hotel lady gratefully nodded and left. "Alright kids, leave your stuff. We have to go register Ace. Apparently his first match is today." Taiyang said before entering his room with his and Qrow's luggage.

"You need any help?" Ace asked Yang and Ruby.

"We can carry our own luggage Ace." Yang said with a smile. She knew that Ace would take hers and Ruby's luggage in himself of they asked him to. "You just worry about winning your match today, champ." Yang said before entering her room. Ace looked at Ruby and noticed her apparently whispering into a backpack.

"Ruby?" Ace asked. The girl immediately backed away from the backpack.

"Yes Ace?"

"You realize this hotel doesn't allow pets?" Ace said as he walked up to his surrogate little sister.

"I know that. Why would you say that?" Ruby nervously said.

"So you don't mind if I use your backpack as a punching bag?" Ace asked as he began raising his fist.

"Please don't! Alright fine, you caught me. I brought Zwei." Ruby said, a guilty look on her face. Ace opened the backpack a little and saw the small corgi looking back at him.

"It's too late to do anything now. Just try to keep Zwei away from any hotel staff." Ace said as he closed the backpack and gave it to Ruby. He picked up his own luggage and took it into his room. "Fancy bed, fancy desk, fancy closet, fancy shower nozzle thing, fancy curtains, and,would you look at that, fancy rug." Ace said as he brilliantly summarized his room. He threw his luggage, which was a large and small suitcase, on the bed. He opened the smaller one. Inside was Straw and Spade. He quickly checked each one for any problems. Seeing that his guns were in okay shape, Ace strapped the guns to his lower back and exited the room.

"You girls ready?" Ace said as he knocked on the door leading to the girl's room.

"Yeah, we'll be out in a second." Came the muffled voice of Yang. Ace walked over to the adult's room and knocked on the door.

"You guys ready?" Ace asked.

"Uh… we have a small situation Ace. You might want to come inside." Taiyang said from the other side of the room. Ace opened the door and found Qrow passed out on one of the beds.

"He's only had one bottle of alcohol. How is he already passed out?" Ace asked.

"Turns out what he drank is stronger stuff than what he's used to." Taiyang said as he raised the empty bottle of alcohol.

"Just leave him. If he wakes up, he knows where to find us." Ace suggested. "It's not like we'll be able to wake him up anytime soon." Ace reasoned. Taiyang nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's go get the girls." The blonde haired man said as he exited the room, followed closely by Ace.

 **...Mistral Tournament Entrance…**

"As you'll be competing, you will be going down this opening." A man at the registration desk said as he pointed to a doorway that said "Combatants Only."

"The rest of you can go find seats." The registration man said.

"You have everything you need Ace?" Taiyang asked.

"Yep, Straw and Spade are good to go." Ace said as he gestured to the firearms strapped to his lower back.

"Well good luck Ace." Taiyang said as he patted the boy on the shoulders.

"Make sure to whoop butt." Ruby said.

"Try not to hurt your opponent too much." Yang said as she gave Ace a thumbs up.

"We'll be watching from the stands." Taiyang said.

"I'll do my best. See you all in a few hours." Ace said as he turned and walked into the combatants entrance.

"Ace is going to win right?" Ruby asked as the trio left to go find seats.

"Oh big time." Yang said. "Ace is probably the strongest person here." The blonde thirteen year old remarked. Said boy was currently walking down a long hallway to the combatant's waiting area. He walked into a large room filled with males and females of various ages. Ace wasn't very surprised to see that there was virtually no one close to his age here. There weren't a lot of elite thirteen year olds in the world. Most of the combatants were in their late teens.

"Ruby would have loved to see this." Ace remarked as he looked at all the weapons the contestants were carrying. There were tables scattered throughout the waiting room, most of them filled with older contestants. Ace walked through the room in search of a table to sit at. He could hear multiple people whispering about him as he walked by.

"Check out the kid."

"I thought this tournament was for elite students only."

"Did junior lose his babysitter?"

"Look at his hat. It's weird." This particular comment would have made Ace turn around to face the speaker, but he knew that he would ever be able to find the speaker amid all the students.

"Man, first the redhead, and now him. These kids are going to get hurt fighting us." Ace looked around in interest. His eyes finally fell on a redhead sitting at a table in the back by herself. She looked remarkably young when compared to the rest of the contestants. _Perfect_. Ace thought to himself. He walked over the lone girl.

"Mind if I sit here?" Ace asked, catching the girl by surprise. She obviously wasn't expecting anyone to talk to her.

"Oh… um yes. I mean… no I don't mind." The girl stuttered. "I'm sorry, you just caught me by surprise is all." The girl said.

"You don't need to apologize." Ace said as he sat in the seat opposite of her's. "Portgas D. Ace, but you can call me Ace." The red eyed boy introduced himself as he extended his hand.

"Pyrrha Nikos, It's a pleasure to meet you Ace." Pyrrha said as she shook Ace's hand.

 _ **A/N: Let it be known, I am officially a hypocrite. I said this chapter was going to encompass an entire year, but then I started thinking about Ace at the Mistral tournament. I realized that it would take more than part of a chapter to go into that event. So here I am, aout to dedicate who knows how many chapters to the Mistral tournament when I originally said that I wanted to speed things along. I know, I'm a horrible human being and should go die in a fire. If you have been wanting Ace to get to Beacon already, I'm sorry but that won't be for a while. Even if I had glazed over the Mistral Tournament, there were still other multi-chapter events I was going to do. Bear with me, things will eventually reach Beacon.**_

 _ **Ace now has weapons, which is neat. I had a lot of trouble figuring out what his weapon would be. Even now I'm not all that happy with what I gave him. I apologize if the weapons were somewhat shallow to you.**_

 _ **On a brighter note, I gave Ace his boat! I really liked his boat in the manga, and wanted him to have it in this story. Now that he has his boat back, Ace may or may not leave Patch. What he does and where he might go you'll just have to wait and see.**_

 _ **Regarding the romance, at this point Yang has a crush on Ace, but she hasn't realized it yet. Qrow can see it, but Yang hasn't. More may or may not come next chapter.**_

 _ **I noticed that someone, forgive me but when writing this I don't have your name on hand, brought up a really good point that I should address. This involves Haki. As far as my story is concerned, Haki can be used even if you have your aura active. So yes, Ace can use his HAOSHOKU Haki while his aura is active. Also, if someone uses aura and armament Haki, then the abilities will stack. Whether Ace gets more than just conquerors Haki remains to be seen.**_

 _ **You have all been a magnificent audience. Though there haven't been many of you with complaints, those of you who have had complaints have done exactly like I asked. You give a structured, well thought out criticism on the problem. I really do appreciate this. That is the type of criticism I can learn from and grow.**_

 _ **Well, that's about all i have to say. I will see you all next chapter.**_

 _ **Until then.**_

 _ **Next Chapter Sneak Peak:**_

"I have a lot of money riding on this match. I need you boys to make sure this Ace kid loses against our little champion." A shady looking man said from behind a desk.

"What do you want us to do to the kid?" One of the goons in front of him asked.

"Don't attack him. We don't want any visible injuries. Just slip this into his food." The man said as he got out a vial of mystery substance from his desk. "Trust me, when the kid gets some of this, he'll be lucky to even see straight."

"How do we get it into his food?" Another goon asked.

"That's for you to find out." The man said as he handed the first goon the vial.


	7. Chapter 7

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 7: Fighting, friendship, and a touch of underhanded dealings

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

"Pyrrha huh? You seem a little young to be here." Ace remarked.

"I could say the same thing about you." Pyrrha said as she looked over Ace. "By my guess you couldn't be older than fourteen."

"I'm actually thirteen." Ace clarified.

"Why so am I. Isn't that a coincidence?" Pyrrha said as she smiled. Having someone her age to talk to was a welcome change, especially when you consider the less than friendly treatment the other contestants had given her.

"Hope they're having fun over at the kiddy table." Both thirteen year olds heard someone remark. Pyrrha looked down self consciously while Ace stared at her in confusion.

"Why are they being such big jerks to us?" Ace asked the redhead in front of him.

"I suspect it has something to do with our young age." Pyrrha answered.

"Why does that matter?" Ace asked. The red eyed boy knew that age had nothing to do with combat prowess.

"I suppose that our fellow combatants believe we don't deserve to be here." Pyrrha said as she gave the other tables a quick glance.

"That's stupid. We earned our positions just like them." Ace remarked as he turned around and looked at the other tables.

"They don't see it that way." Pyrrha said.

"Don't worry, they will. So, where ya from?" Ace asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Here in Mistral. You?" Pyrrha asked.

"An island called Patch over in Vale." Ace answered. "I go to Signal academy there."

"I go to Sanctum." Pyrrha conversationally said. "I'm currently at the top of my class."

"Neat, I'm the best student in the whole academy." Ace nonchalantly said.

"You must be fairly strong then." Pyrrha said. It wasn't very hard for her to believe that Ace was the best student at his academy. He had to be pretty good to have been considered for the Mistral tournament.

"I do my best." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders. "When did you have your aura unlocked?" Ace asked, wanting to keep the conversation going.

"Sanctum doesn't unlock your aura until you're twelve years old, but mine was unlocked when I was eight." Pyrrha said. Ace briefly thought back to Signal and how you had to be thirteen to have your aura unlocked.

"Mine was unlocked when I was seven. I guess we're more similar than I thought. Listen, I get the feeling that neither one of us is going to able to make friends with the other competitors. Do you wanna be friends and hang out with me?" Ace asked. It would have been rather boring to have to sit alone waiting for a match.

"Well that sounds grand." Pyrrha responded as she smiled at the red eyed boy. "So, when do you have your match?" The combat prodigy asked. Ace looked up at the brackets that wwere posted on a big screen.

"Looks like it'll be my turn next. Shouldn't be too hard." Ace said, unaware of the negative reaction he got from the older combatants.

"Freckle face over there is pretty confidant isn't he?" A random voice asked. Ace sat there smiling, oblivious to all the enemies he had just made.

"That's a rather unique hat you have there." Pyrrha said as she tried to change the subject. "I like the smiley and frowny faces." The redhead complimented.

"Yeah, it's my pride and joy." Ace said as he touched the rim of his precious hat.

"I noticed that you have two firearms strapped to your back. Are you primarily a ranged fighter?" Pyrrha asked. Sure she could just watch Ace's next match and find out that way, but she wanted to see just how much information Ace was willing to give away.

"I'm more of a close to mid-range kind of guy. These guns are actually sheathes for a couple of swords." Ace replied. "That's about all I'm willing to tell you. Can't give away too many secrets can I?" Ace said.

"No, of course not. I wouldn't expect you to explain all your strengths and weaknesses to a potential opponent." Pyrrha replied. "I guess it's only fair that I tell you that I use a shield and spear."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there's more to your weapon than that." Before they could continue talking, cheering was heard as the current match ended. The victorious combatant walked into the waiting room as the loser left through some other exit. He didn't have any reason to be there anymore.

"Looks like it's your turn." Pyrrha observed.

"Yep, see you after I win my match." Ace said as he got up and made his way down the hall that led to the arena. He exited to find a massive stadium filled with thousands of people. Though Ace couldn't see them, Taiyang, Yang, Ruby, and even Qrow were all sitting in the one of the first rows. Because they were related to a contestant, they got better seats. In the middle of the stadium was the arena Ace would fight on. Ace wasn't intimidated by the noise or the sheer number of people. There had been much more of both at Marineford. The red eyed boy calmly walked onto the arena where his opponent was already waiting for him.

Ace's opponent was a male around seventeen years of age and an absolute giant. Ace guessed that he was just a couple inches shy of seven feet even. The giant had light brown hair in a crew cut along with brown eyes. He was light skinned. He was currently wearing a metal chestplate over a light red shirt. One arm was covered in armor while the other was bare. He was wearing black cargo pants along with black combat boots.

"And your name is?" Ace asked.

"Arturo, not that it'll do you much good." The now named Arturo said. "Better back out now before you get hurt." The giant said.

"And miss all the fun?" Ace replied with a cocky smile. Arturo frowned in annoyance but said nothing more. A holographic screen appeared out of nowhere and started cycling through various terrains.

"That's new." Ace said to himself as he stared at the screen. The screen finally landed on a snow storm. The arena around them sunk down into the floor, only to be replaced by a terrain of ice and rock. Storm clouds formed overhead, and, within seconds, a blizzard had started raging. Because of the blizzard, the audience couldn't see what was going on in the arena. This wasn't a problem though, as the tournament had special cameras that fed video to a giant screen above the arena. Through this, they were able to see Ace and Arturo each standing in the raging snowstorm. Ace gave the snowstorm a bored look.

"it's gonna be pretty hard to see through this." Ace told himself. The cold didn't bother him at all. Even without his logia body, Ace would stay warm no matter what. He was practically immune to cold. The same couldn't be said for Arturo. The young man had grown up in Vacuo, which is a lot of desert. He had only seen snow once in his life.

"I'll just have to be quick about beating the kid." Arturo told himself. He heard the announcers counting down. Once the match had officially begun, the teenager pulled out a battle axe nearly as big as he was. He clicked a button and the axe promptly turned into a generic assault rifle, the axe head serving as the bayonet. Arturo rushed headlong into the snow storm, rifle at the ready. He didn't have to search long for Ace. The arena wasn't that big. The giant teenager crouched behind a rocky outcropping as he observed the younger male aimlessly walk around the area. Arturo had to hold down a laugh as he saw Ace walk right past his position. His hiding position, coupled with the raging blizzard, made it very hard to see readied his rifle and aimed right at Ace's head. Arturo pressed the trigger and multiple cracks were heard as a barrage of rifle ammo went speeding at Ace.

"Where the Hell is this gu-" Ace froze as he heard the gunshots. Something strange happened then. It was hard to describe, but Ace could sense Arturo behind his hiding place.. He saw where the bullets would hit him before they got anywhere near him. It was like he could see the future.

In less than a second Ace tilted his head as a bullet went flying by him. He shifted to the right a centimeter before ducking a few spaces. Bullets went flying past Ace as he dodged each one of them, all while facing away from Arturo. He turned his body a little, he slid to the left, he crouched low to the ground, and he jumped high into the air. Bullets went sailing past Ace as he dodged in mid air. Arturo ended up emptying out his entire clip trying to shoot down Ace. He growled in frustration as the younger male landed completely unscathed. Ace couldn't see it, but the entire stadium was speechless at what had just occurred. Even the announcers didn't know what to say.

"Damn." Qrow said, pretty much summing up the feelings of the audience. In the combatants room, everyone was dumbfounded. Because it was Ace fighting, most of the other fighters were watching his match to see if the kid was actually any good. Pyrrha looked at the screen with wide, astounded eyes. If there was any doubt about his right to participate, it was all gone now. The redhead watched the screen as Ace seemed to be talking to Arturo.

"You missed." Ace taunted. Arturo growled as he stepped out of his hiding spot and changed his rifle into an axe again. Though the red eyed boy was caught off guard by what he had done, he quickly realized what had happened. Ace had just activated his **KENBUNSHOKU** **HAKI**.

"Smug punk." Arturo said through clenched teeth. He charged and swung his axe at Ace. The thirteen year old responded by ducking and shooting a bullet at Arturo's stomach. The older teenager was sent flying into a nearby boulder. Arturo got back up and jumped high into the air, intent of using his downwards momentum to strike a deadly blow against Ace.

Now, the former pirate could have done a few things at that point. He could have shot Arturo right out of the air. He could have jumped and kicked Arturo out of bounds. He could have dodged the clumsy attack. Instead, Ace decided to flaunt his power a little. He strapped his guns and unsheathed his swords. He raised them in an X shape as he prepared to catch Arturo's attack. He didn't have to wait long as Arturo came speeding down on him. A massive shockwave was sent flying outwards as swords met axe. The shockwave actually dispersed the storm and blizzard, leaving everything clear as day. A crater was formed under Ace from the sheer force of the blow.

"That all you got?" Ace asked, a wide grin visible on his face. Arturo was absolutely shocked to see that, not only had Ace endured his attack, but that he hadn't faltered in the slightest. While Arturo's arms were trembling from trying to overpower the thirteen year old, Ace's arms weren't shaking even a little. It was clear who was the stronger of the two. The scene was actually kind of funny. Ace was much smaller than Arturo, yet it was the giant struggling to overpower Ace.

"I'm gonna win now." Ace informed Arturo. The former pirate thrust upwards with his swords, causing Arturo to stumble backwards. Ace jumped as he kicked Arturo in the chin, sending the older boy skywards. He hit the force field moments later, causing his defeat.

"And the winner by knockout, Portgas D. Ace!" One of the announcers… announced. The crowd cheered again for the thirteen year old with amazing abilities. Ace adopted a silly grin and waved at the crowd. He continued waving as he got off the arena and made his way towards the combatants waiting area. Every eye was focused on him as he entered. Ace either didn't notice or didn't care as he made his way to where Pyrrha was sitting. The redhead stared at Ace in admiration and awe. The red eyed boy stared at Pyrrha in confusion.

"Why're you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?" Ace asked as he wiped his face with his arm.

"Ace that was incredible!" Pyrrha said. "The way you dodged those bullets and withstood that attack was amazing." Pyrrha said, her face adopting an excited look.

"He was kind of a lousy shot." Ace replied with false modesty. In reality, Ace wasn't sure if he could activate his **KENBUNSHOKU** **HAKI** again if he tried. That wasn't a problem though. Unlike his **HAOUSHOKU HAKI** , Ace could train his **KENBUNSHOKU** **HAKI** without worrying about knocking out anyone around him.

 _Hang on, I've got_ _ **HAOSHOKU**_ _and observation_ _ **HAKI**_ _. Does this mean i also have_ _ **BUSOSHOKU**_ _**HAKI**_ _?_ Ace thought to himself. He had a lot of work to do once he got home.

"Ace, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Pyrrha suddenly asked.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why are you still at Signal? With your kind of skills, you could get into places like Beacon or Haven easily." Pyrrha asked. This question caught Ace a little off guard. Why _wasn't_ he at places like Beacon? If he really wanted to, he could probably get into Beacon early. So, why was he still at Signal?

"You're right, I could get into Beacon if I wanted to." Ace admitted.

"Then why are you still at Signal, if you don't mind me asking?" Pyrrha said, being her usual polite self.

"Yang." Ace said.

"Pardon?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yang is one of my oldest friends. She and I are pretty close. We're the same age, which means we're in the same year. If I were to go to Beacon now, I would be going without Yang. That's something I don't really want." Ace explained. "When I go to Beacon, I want to make sure Yang is right there with me." Ace finished. Pyrrha found herself smiling at Ace's explanation.

"That's very sweet of you Ace." Pyrrha honestly said. "I would really like to meet Yang in the future."

"She's here watching the tournament if you want to see her later." Ace offered. Before Pyrrha could give a reply, the current match ended. Both kids glanced up and saw that Pyrrha was next to fight.

"I'm sorry Ace, but I have to go now." Pyrrha said as she gathered her gear.

"Make sure to win." Ace said as he watched Pyrrha walk down the hallway that led to the arena. Outside, the crowd was excited to see another young contestant, having been hyped up by Ace's match.

"That girl looks like she's my age." Yang observed while she watched Pyrrha wave to the crowd, a shy smile visible on the redhead's face.

"She probably is." Ruby said as she stood on the lower bar of the handrail. "Wonder if she and Ace know each other." Ruby said out loud, not really expecting an answer.

"They do now." Qrow said. "They're the only thirteen year olds in the tournament, I checked. The next youngest contestant is sixteen, so they're on their own in there. If I know teenagers, which I do, the other people probably didn't like that Ace and Pyrrha were admitted into the tournament." Qrow paused as a mischievous thought entered his mind.

"They were practically destined to meet one another. Ace and Pyrrha, two of a kind, trusting only each other in a combat tournament. Makes for a pretty good love story." Qrow said as he gave a smug smirk. He looked over at Yang, who was now looking at Pyrrha with narrowed eyes.

 _I am never going to let this up_. Qrow thought to himself as he watched Yang regard a potential rival for Ace's affection, though Yang didn't know yet that she wanted Ace's affection.

Pyrrha's match came and went, the redhead winning with ease. Both she and Ace had one more match before the day was over. Obviously, they won their second matches. For the rest of the day all anyone could talk about was the girl who was untouchable and the boy who never tired. Both thirteen year olds were currently standing in the combatants room, getting ready to leave.

"So, you wanna come and meet my family?" Ace asked as he checked Straw and Spade for any damages.

"I'm sorry but I can't. I need to go see my own mother." Pyrrha replied as she strapped her shield and spear to her back. "If you want, we could get together tomorrow." Pyrrha offered. She really did enjoy spending time with Ace.

"Sounds good. Got a Scroll?" Ace asked as he pulled out his. Pyrrha nodded and they exchanged contact information.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye Ace." Pyrrha said as she turned and walked out of the room.

"Bye Pyrrha." Ace said before walking down another corridor. Upon exiting he found Ruby and company waiting for him. He smiled and waved at them.

"Did you guys like my matches?" Ace asked.

"You're a huge show off you know that?" Qrow said, referencing Ace's match with Arturo.

"The people wanted a show and I gave them one." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Did you get to know the Pyrrha girl?" Ruby asked.

"Yep. I got her number and we're going to get together tomorrow." Ace said while bringing out his scroll. Yang darkly gazed at the communications device in Ace's hand while Qrow gazed at Yang's angry face in amusement. _They make this way too easy_ , Qrow thought to himself.

"When do we get to meet her?" Taiyang asked.

"Maybe tomorrow. Right now I want to go to the hotel and get something to eat." Ace said as he made his way to the exit.

… **The Next Day…**

Ace walked through the stadium entrance and saw that Pyrrha was already waiting for him. The redhead waved toward him when she saw that he had arrived.

"Is your family not going to join us?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, they were dragged off by Ruby to a weapons museum." Ace said. "It kind of sucks. Yang really wanted to come. I mean _really_ wanted to come. Ruby eventually had to use the 'Sisters stick together,' and 'Puppy dog face,' cards to get Yang to go." The freckled boy said. Pyrrha nodded in understanding.

"Where's your mom?" Ace asked. He could have sworn he heard Pyrrha say her mom was also here.

"Unfortunately my mother is at a meeting with the Mistral Council." Pyrrha said.

"Sounds important." Ace said, deliberately not trying to get more information. "So it's just us for today?" Ace asked.

"It would seem so." Pyrrha observed. She briefly thought back to what her mother had told her about not "dating." _This isn't a date though, s no problem there_ , Pyrrha thought to herself.

"Alright." Ace simply replied. He didn't see any problem with spending time alone with Pyrrha.

"So, what would you like to do?" Pyrrha asked her new friend.

"You're from Mistral right?" Ace asked. Pyrrha nodded in confirmation. "Why don't you show me around? See the sights?"

"Alright, that sounds like fun. Have you been to the Mistral Gardens?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nope." Ace said, popping the "p."

"Would you like to go? It's very beautiful this time of year." Pyrrha offered.

"Lead away." Ace said. Pyrrha beckoned for him to follow her. They walked through downtown Mistral, enjoying each other's company.

"You killed a Beowolf at age six?" Pyrrha asked, clearly impressed.

"It was a small one. Plus it cracked a few of my ribs while I was killing it." Ace said as his hand subconsciously rubbed his side.

"I must say Ace, you seem to have led a very interesting life." Pyrrha complimented.

"You'd be surprised by what I consider 'interesting.'" Ace said. What he had been through could be considered incredible by Remnant's standards, but back in his old world it would have just been another day in the life of a pirate.

"it's more interesting than mine." Pyrrha said as he expression saddened a little. "All my life has been training to be the best. Moments like these, where I can relax and have fun, are few and far in between. I guess all that training has been worth it though. I mean, look at me." Pyrrha said. "I'm in a tournament full of much older students and I haven't even been challenged yet." The red haired prodigy said, forced enthusiasm evident in her voice. Ace looked down, unsure of how to respond. The truth was, whenever conversations took a serious note like now, Ace struggled to find the appropriate words. He wasn't good with serious conversations. Luckily, he wouldn't have to say anything.

"We're here." Pyrrha said as she gestured to an enormous greenhouse. "Shall we?" The green eyed girl asked.

"Let's go." Ace said as he led the way into the gardens. Ace entered and looked in awe at the sheer diversity that greeted him. There was plant life of all manner coexisting here.

"Wow." Ace said, summing up his first impression in one word. Pyrrha giggled at Ace's amazed face.

"You like it? The Mistral Gardens is famous for having plant life from all four kingdoms under one roof. Plant life from the snow flowers of Atlas to the giant trees of the Mistral swamps and everything in between all coexist here." Pyrrha said as she walked to a field of lotus flowers and admired them. Ace felt wave after wave of nostalgia hit him. When he had been a pirate, he had visited a multitude of islands that had the strangest assortment of botanical wonders. Seeing the Mistral Gardens reminded so much of those islands.

"You have no idea how much I like it, Pyrrha." Ace said as he let out a small laugh. Ace and Pyrrha walked through the gardens, admiring the various fauna they came upon.

"What's that?" Ace asked as he pointed to a strange looking plant.

"That is a rare tree from Vacuo. See the way it looks like two horns? That's why we call it a devil tree. The fruit that comes from the tree is called devil fruit." Pyrrha said. For a fleeting moment, Ace thought he could give Yang and Ruby devil fruit powers. He saw a vision of his own pirate crew. That vision came crashing down when Ace saw that the fruit was just regular looking apples.

"It was too good to be true." Ace muttered.

"Pardon?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's nothing. Anything else Mistral has to offer?" Ace asked.

"Well, there is the Mistral Tower. You can see the whole city from up there." Pyrrha offered.

… **15 Minutes Later, The Mistral Tower…**

"I can see the stadium from here!" Ace exclaimed as he looked through a pair of binoculars the Mistral Tower provides for anyone who wants one. The stadium was filled to the brim with people. If Ace strained hard enough, he see the faint outline of the two people currently fighting.

"Speaking of staduim, your match begins soon. Ace. Maybe we should start heading back to the arena?" Pyrrha suggested.

"Wow, I lost track of time." Ace said as he glanced at his wrist watch. He and Pyrrha quickly made their way back to the arena. When they entered the combatants area, they saw that there were a lot less people than yesterday.

"People are getting eliminated at a fast rate." Ace observed. He gazed at the leader boards and saw that they were getting very close to the finals. He just had two more matches to go before he would qualify for the finals. He looked at the other side of the board and saw that Pyrrha was in the same position as well.

"By this time tomorrow the tournament will have started its final match." Pyrrha said as they found an empty table and sat down.

"You mean we'll be fighting each other?" Ace joked. Pyrrha didn't answer as she gazed at the screen on the wall, which had the current match going on on it.

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions so soon Ace. These finalists look very skilled." Pyrrha observed. Ace laughed in response.

"If we aren't fighting each other in the finals, then I'll wear a dress." Ace said, humor very evident in his voice. Ace looked at the screen and saw that one contestant had won the match.

"Guess it's my turn. See you after I win." Ace said as he got up and made his way towards the arena. He exited and was greeted by the usual cacophony of cheering that assaulted every contestant. The red eyed boy walked to the middle of the arena where his opponent was already waiting.

"I know you." Ace said as he looked over his opponent. "Serena!?" Ace asked in disbelief. The leopard faunus smiled and waved at Ace.

"Long time no see Ace." Serena said as she gave her old friend a lopsided grin.

"I haven't seen you since you left Patch. Where'd you go anyways?" Ace asked. Serena had left at the end of Ace's second year. She didn't give any warning. One day she was here, the next she was gone.

"I moved to Vacuo. The people there are nice enough, though they can be a little annoying." Serena said.

"Annoying?" Ace asked in amusement.

"Yeah, this one monkey faunus about your age won't leave me alone no matter how many times I ask him to." Serena said. Seeing that they were done with their pre-fight conversation, the announcers signaled for the start of the match.

3…

2…

1…

"Fight!" The announcer yelled into the microphone. Ace and Serena jumped back to gain some distance. Serena let her clawed gauntlets slip out of her sleeves while Ace pulled out Straw and Spade.

"You finally have weapons. Hope you know how to use them." Serena said as she crouched and prepared to attack. Ace grinned in response. Without warning the red eyed boy started firing a barrage of ammo at the leopard faunus. Serena dodged each bullet while steadily making her way closer to Ace. The freckled boy put Straw back in its holster and pulled out the sword sheathed in the gun. He ran at Serena and fired Spade a few more times. Serena raised her gauntlets to block the bullets and found herself skidding back slightly from the power each bullet had. Ace slashed with his sword, intent on striking Sarina on her shoulder. The leopard faunus caught the blade with one of her gauntlets and tried to rake her claws through Ace's face.

The former pirate quickly raised Spade and shot at the underside of Serena's gauntlet, causing the trajectory of the attack to move upwards. Serena struck air as her gauntlet had risen too high to hit Ace. The red eyed boy brought Spade level with Serena's face and prepared to fire a round. Serena thought quickly. She let go of Ace's sword and covered the barrel with her gauntlet. Ace fired and the bullet was caught by Serena. The leopard faunus frowned when she felt her hand go numb. Ace quickly stabbed Serena's midsection with his newly freed sword. Serena jumped over Ace to avoid the blow, kneeing Ace's face in the process. The red eyed boy quickly recovered and launched a spinning kick at Serena. The leopard faunus raised her gauntlet to block, but was not ready for the amount of strength behind the blow.

Serena went skidding across the ground, eventually coming to a stop. Ace sheathed his sword back in Straw and jumped high into the air. He then used Straw and Spade to fire round after round at Serena's downed form. When he was right above Serena, Ace turned and shot his guns straight into the air. The recoil sent him rocketing down towards the arena floor. Ace raised his foot, intent on ending the fight right then and there. To his surprise, Serena had recovered faster than he thought. She moved out of the way just as Ace's foot connected with the arena floor. The entire arena floor shook and cracked under the force of the blow. Before Ace could react, Serena was already in front of him. She landed a plethora of slashes at Ace's mid-section before kicking him a few meters away.

"You've improved." Ace complimented as wiped some dust off of his shirt. The red eyed boy was not tired at all while Serena was starting to breathe a little heavier than usual. The leopard faunus didn't respond. Instead she brandished her gauntlets and charged at Ace. The former pirate took out both his swords and went to meet Serena's charge. Sword strikes and claw slashes met in an intense flurry of sparks and motion. Ace parried every claw strike Serena sent at him with relative easy. He saw a brief opening and kneed Serena in her stomach. The leopard faunus grit her teeth and gouged Ace's face with her claws. The former pirate stumbled back while gripping his face in pain. When he loosened his grip he saw multiple Serenas staring back at him.

"Deja vu." Ace muttered, amusement clear in his voice. _Now would be a good time for_ _ **KENBUNSHOKU HAKI**_ , Ace thought to himself. He tried to activate it, but failed.

"Guess it's time for plan B." Ace said as he reached into one of his pockets and took out two dust cartridges. He inserted one into each sword hilt, and grinned when he saw the blades start to shimmer with heat. Without any warning Ace charged the group of Serenas. Both swords were engulfed in flames as Ace raised them over his left shoulder. He swung his swords downwards, sending two blades of flame at the mirages. The flame blades cut through the mirages with ease, quickly finding their target of the real Serena. The leopard faunus jumped over the blades, but was not prepared when Ace suddenly appeared in front of her.

"I win," Ace said with a smirk. He pointed the gun forms of Straw and Spade at Serena and fired. The leopard faunus went soaring out of bounds, quickly hitting the floor with a small thud. The recoil from firing his guns in midair caused Ace to crash into the center of the arena. The red eyed boy quickly got up, not at all harmed by the fall. As the announcer announced the winner, Ace rushed to Serena's side, intent on helping her up. He extended his hand, which the leopard faunus gladly took.

"I think I liked you better when you didn't have a weapon." Serena said as she retracted her clawed gauntlets.

"Makes things a lot easier for me, doesn't it?" Ace said.

"You know, I was actually hoping to win a tournament for once. I would've too if you hadn't participated." Serena ruefully said.

"You would have still lost against Pyrrha." Ace stated with certainty. Serena was slightly surprised by how confident Ace sounded when he mentioned Pyrrha.

"Is she that good?" Serena asked in curiosity. Sure, she had seen Pyrrha's matches, but Serena didn't think Pyrrha was _that_ remarkable.

"Yep. I can't wait to fight her." Ace said as he and Serena made their way back to the combatants waiting area. "What're you gonna do now that you lost?" Ace asked.

"I don't have a reason for sticking around anymore, so I'll probably head back to Vacuo. Gimme your scroll Ace." Serena said. Ace complied and handed her his scroll. She fiddled with it for a few seconds before giving it back. Ace looked down and saw that he now had Serena's number.

"Gimme a call if you're ever in Vacuo. It was great seeing you again Ace." Serena said while affectionately patting Ace's head. To Serena's surprise, she had to reach up slightly to pat. _Guess he isn't as much a kid anymore_ , Serena thought to herself as she walked away, leaving Ace to sit with Pyrrha. The green eyed prodigy had seen the entire encounter between Serena and Ace.

"Ace, do you know her?" Pyrrha asked as she looked at Serena's retreating form.

"She's an old friend of mine who used to go to Signal." Ace said. Pyrrha nodded in understanding. The thirteen year olds sat in comfortable silence, watching the ongoing match. While he acknowledged that the combatants were good, Ace was confident he could defeat either of them. He was confident he could defeat everyone here, Pyrrha included. He smiled when he saw the current match end.

"I have to go fight now, Ace. Wish me luck." Pyrrha said as she picked up her sword and shield and made her way to the arena. Ace relaxed while he watched Pyrrha fight. It was almost magical the way her opponent couldn't hit her. The way she seamlessly transitioned through her weapon forms was spectacular, to say the least. Her shield work was as close to perfect as you could get. If there was anyone in this tournament who stood the best chance against Ace, it was Pyrrha. The girl prodigy won her match without receiving a scratch. In his final match of the day, Ace faced a fairly unremarkable dog faunus. Although he was good enough to make it to the semifinals, he still lost rather easily to Ace. Pyrrha faced her opponent and won, though this was not much of a surprise to anyone.

"Admit it." Ace told Pyrrha. They were the only ones left in the combatants area.

"Admit what?" Pyrrha asked in confusion.

"That I was right. We're going to be fighting each other in the finals." Ace said as he pointed at the leaderboards.

"You were right Ace." Pyrrha said, a small smile on her face. "I'm sorry for questioning your views."

"It's okay Pyrrha, just don't ever doubt me again." Ace jokingly said. Both his and Pyrrha's scrolls vibrated simultaneously at that moment. The thirteen year olds checked their scrolls.

"I have to go." Pyrrha said upon reading the message sent to her by her mother.

"Same." Ace said. He had been sent a message by Yang telling him to hurry up.

"I suppose I'll see you tomorrow in the arena?" Pyrrha asked.

"Count on it." Ace said as he smiled at his fellow finalist. They bid each other goodbye before leaving through separate exits. Pyrrha found her mother waiting for her.

"Hello mother. Did you like my matches?" Pyrrha asked, a smile visible on her face. Her mother smiled while bringing Pyrrha in for a motherly hug.

"Of course. You've made me very proud, Pyrrha. Don't let these victories go to your head, though. You still have to fight that Ace boy, and I can already tell you it won't be easy." Pyrrha's mother said as she led Pyrrha away from the stadium. "As long as you use your semblance discreetly, I believe you can best Ace. Speaking of, is that the same Ace you spent the morning with?" The mother asked.

"Yes, that is the same boy." Pyrrha answered, not sure where her mother was going with this,

"I thought I told you no dating." Mother said, causing Pyrrha to blush slightly.

"It wasn't a date mother. I was just showing him some of Mistral's famous landmarks." Pyrrha defended.

"DId you take him to the Mistral Gardens?" Mother asked, a small smile on her face.

"Yes, why?"

"That is where your father took me on our first date." Mother said. Pyrrha's blush grew deeper.

"Ace and I are just friends, mother. Nothing more." Pyrrha adamantly said, her blush still not receding.

"Very well Pyrrha. I believe you." Her mother said. Pyrrha sighed in relief, glad that her mother was going to drop the subject. She didn't see the slightly mischievous smile on her face. "Although, having such a talented individual as a son-in-law wouldn't be such a crime." Mother jokingly said. Pyrrha stumbled when her mother said that. Her face grew to be the same color of her hair as she regained her balance.

"I barely know him! It's far too early to think of marriage! That doesn't even matter because we are just friends!" Pyrrha sputtered as she lightly glared at her mother. The older woman chuckled, amused by her daughter's reaction. Little did they know, Ace was going through a very similar conversation.

"Qrow, stop it." Taiyang said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"I'm just saying, having Pyrrha together with Ace wouldn't be such a bad thing." Qrow said.

"But we're just friends." Ace said, though he was largely ignored. Yang didn't bother talking. She had no desire to see this conversation go on for any longer.

"Qrow…" Taiyang threateningly said. Qrow raised his hands up in mock surrender.

"Hey man, it was just an idea." Qrow said.

"A really bad one." Yang muttered. She didn't see Qrow smirking at her response. Ruby, being the innocent eleven year old she is, didn't understand what Qrow meant by "Pyrrha together with Ace."

"What's the big deal? They'll just be near each other." Ruby asked. She suddenly grew excited. "You should get together with Pyrrha Ace, and let me come! That way I can get a closer look at her weapon!" Ruby said while tugging on Ace's arm. Yang sighed in annoyance and irritation. This conversation was really starting to tick her off.

"Ruby, Qrow doesn't mean together like standing next to each other. He means 'together, together.'" Yang said. Ruby paused to process what her sister said before realizing what Qrow had meant.

"Ooh." Ruby said in realization. "Gross." Ruby muttered as she let Ace's arm go.

"With that, we are officially dropping this topic." Taiyang announced. Yang silently thanked her father. The only thing that irked her more than the conversation was that she didn't know _why_ it irked her so much. No matter how many times she asked herself this, Yang always came up empty in terms of answers.

"You're no fun," Qrow grumbled, "So what d'ya think Ace? You gonna be able to beat Pyrrha?" Qrow asked.

"Probably. She's better than anyone I've ever fought, but it's nothing I can't handle." Ace confidently said. "It would've been harder if I didn't have any weapons, but now I have Straw and Spade." Ace said as he patted his firearms.

"We'll be rooting for you Ace." Taiyang said as he patted Ace on the shoulder. The red eyed boy chuckled as he placed his hands behind his head.

… **Beacon Academy…**

"Young Ace has surpassed my expectations yet again." Ozpin said as he watched footage of the Mistral Tournament. "Unfortunately, this means we will most likely not be seeing his otherworldly abilities." Ozpin said before taking a sip of coffee.

"Does this mean?" Glynda asked in slight apprehension.

"It appears so, Glynda. I am going to have to personally test his abilities." Ozpin said as he gravely drank the rest of his coffee.

"That is complete bullshit." A new voice suddenly said. Ozpin was so surprised that he choked on his coffee. Laughter could be heard as Ozpin coughed up the caffeinated liquid.

"Did you forget I'm here too?" Qrow asked as his face appeared in the top right corner of Ozpin's screen. "What's this about you wanting to fight Ace?" Qrow asked, his amused tone turning serious.

"We have been wanting to witness Ace's pyrokinetic abilities for a long time, but every plan put in place has yielded negative results. As such, the only option left is for me to test his abilities personally." Ozpin said.

"That sounds like a bad idea." Qrow said.

"It is the only option left, Qrow. I have put Ace in advanced classes and even got him a spot in the Mistral Tournament, yet he still has yet to resort to his otherworldly abilities. Believe me Qrow, if there were another option, I would have thought of it." Ozpin said as he stared into his empty coffee mug.

"Why don't I fight him?" Qrow said, boredom clear in his tone.

"... what?" Ozpin asked in surprise.

"Why don't I fight him? Wouldn't be much easier if I just asked him for a spar, then asked him to use his fire? He'd be much more comfortable fighting me than you, anyway." Qrow said. Ozpin was silent for a few seconds.

"I hadn't thought of that." Ozpin admitted. His cheeks were the slightest tint of red because of the embarrassment he felt. Here was a thirty something year old alcoholic who had managed to solve his problem in less than a few seconds. Now that Ozpin thought about it, what he was ready to do was madness. He was going to attack a _child_ for godsakes!

"Yeah, I know." Qrow said as he took out his ever present flask and drank its contents. "So we good on me sparring with Ace?" Qrow asked after he had drained the alcohol from his flask.

"Yes, and make sure to record it." Ozpin said, quickly recovering from his embarrassment.

"Will do, I'm out." Qrow said as he got ready to cut the connection.

"Wait." Ozpin commanded.

"What?" Qrow asked.

"... good job Qrow. Without you I may have committed a huge mistake. Thank you." Ozpin said, not looking directly at Qrow. The alcoholic hunter grew uncomfortable, not used to being praised by Ozpin.

"Yeah… well… it's part of my job. I'll get you that footage when I get home to Patch." Qrow said before cutting the connection. Ozpin sat back in his chair and smiled.

"Are you not going to attack Ace?" Glynda asked, hope very clear in her voice.

"No Glynda, I'll be leaving Ace alone for the time being." Ozpin said.

… **Elsewhere…**

The Mistral Regional Tournament is an event surpassed in acclaim only by the Vytal Festival itself. It is a chance for the new generations of huntsmen and huntresses to show off their skill in intense one on one battles. It is a time of camaraderie, of joy, of pride, and of celebration. However, it is still a sporting event. As such, it is subject to the same less noble practices used in other sports. A prime example is betting. Now, betting itself is not a grave sin or anything like that. People good naturedly bet all the time, and no one gets hurt.

However, there are bets with stakes so high that no one wants to lose. These are the kind of bets that get people hurt. One such example was soon to begin.

"Raymond!" A man called out from his office. He had the look of a typical gangster, the classy kind, not the kind who wear bandanas and sag their pants. He was intently watching a screen. On the top right corner was the latest leaderboards from the tournament, but most of the screen was filled by a recording of Ace's latest fight. A man walked in, followed by several other underlings.

"Yeah boss?" Raymond asked.

"How have you enjoyed the Mistral Tournament so far?" Boss man asked.

"It's been pretty entertaining. That Ace kid is someone I've never heard of before." Raymond answered.

"I've never heard of him either, which is the problem. You may not know this about me Raymond, but I carefully research the students who will be fighting. That's how I've made so much money from betting on the tournament. When I saw Pyrrha, well let's just say I also saw Lien by the truckload. No one would bet on a thirteen year old to win." Boss man paused to drink from the glass on his desk.

"After seeing her fight, I knew our little champion Pyrrha would win the tournament. What I didn't know is that some nobody from an island called Patch would show up and obliterate each of his opponents. Suddenly, it seems like Pyrrha doesn't have as good a chance at winning anymore." Boss man paused to collect his thoughts.

"I have a lot of money riding on this match. I need you boys to make sure this Ace kid loses against our little champion." Boss man said before finishing the rest of the liquid in his glass.

"What do you want us to do to the kid?" One of the goons in front of him asked.

"Don't attack him. We don't want any visible injuries. Just slip this into his food." Boss man said as he got out a vial of mystery substance from his desk. "Trust me, when the kid gets some of this, he'll be lucky to even see straight."

"How do we get it into his food?" Another goon asked.

"That's for you to find out." Boss man said as he handed Raymond the vial. "I am not exaggerating when I say that the amount of Lien riding on this match could set you for life, Raymond. If you fail, you won't live to see the next sunrise." Boss man threateningly said. Raymond got the point, and quickly left. He was followed by his cronies.

They had a job to do, and failing would mean death for all of them.

 _ **A/N: Hello everybody and welcome to the latest update! This was meant more to build up to the next one, where things get a little more intense. I did manage to throw a couple fights in there, and even brought back Serena the leopard faunus. Yay for me.**_

 _ **On a separate note, there was some Haki involved this update. I always found it strange that Ace never used Haki in the manga. I mean, he had to have had some to get him so high up in the whitebeard pirates. Armament Haki I kinda get. With his devil fruit, why would Ace ever need it? Observers Haki, on the other hand, seems like something he should have been using. Either way, he's gonna get Haki in this story.**_

 _ **On a related note, I would like to point out that Ace hasn't used his HAOSHOKU HAKI since the day he got his memories back. Why, you may ask? It's kind of hard to train an ability meant to knock out people when you're surrounded by people you care about. Ace doesn't want to risk hurting Ruby and Yang. Sure he could just go far out into the woods, but that's kind of impractical as he would have to return every night. The bright side is that this won't be a problem with observers and armament Haki as they pose no risk to those around Ace. While his conquerors control is gonna be complete shit for awhile, he will get fairly acquainted with his other Haki.**_

 _ **For those of you who thought Ozpin was going to duke it out with Ace, it's not going to happen. At least not yet. Ozpin would have gone a little overboard if he had gone to attack Ace. It would not have ended well, I can tell you that much. Qrow, being the beautiful bastard he is, came up with a far better solution. Ozpin gets to see Ace's fire, Ace gets to fight someone with his logia powers, and Qrow made Ozpin look like an idiot.**_

 _ **Everyone wins!**_

 _ **There really isn't much more for me to say about this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.**_

 _ **I'll see you all next update.**_

 _ **Until then.**_

 _ **Next chapter sneak peak:**_

"Remember, just a few drops. Anymore and the kid might not live to fight." Raymond told his lackey. Both were currently dressed like chefs in the hotel kitchen. In front of them was a giant bowl of pork ramen. Outside the kitchen, Ace and company were sitting at a table, waiting to be fed.

"Don't worry man, I got it. I got it." The lackey said as he took out the small vial of liquid. The lackey uncorked it and positioned it over the giant bowl of ramen. He carefully poured three drops into the ramen.

"Okay, that should be enough. Re cork the vial and let's get out of here." Raymond said as he wiped his forehead in relief. That relief turned to dread when an unsuspecting chef jostled the lacky. The underling let go of the vial, and it fell into the ramen. Both goons stared at the ramen in shock, unable to do anything for a full ten seconds.

"Take it out!" Raymond furiously whispered. Because the ramen was extremely hot, the lackey got a ladle and fished the vial out of the dish. The lackey was on the verge of crying when he saw that the vial was completely empty.

"We are so royally screwed." The lackey said as he took the vial out of the ladle. Raymond was about to respond, but a waiter came in at that moment.

"This dish ready?" He asked. Raymond dumbly nodded. Without another word, the waiter took the big bowl of ramen and gave it to Ace. Both goons cringed when they saw the red eyed boy consume the bowl at a furious pace.

"Yep, we are completely and utterly screwed." Raymond said as he and the lackey walked away.


	8. Chapter 8

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 8: The dillusioned regard of past things.

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

Ace and company walked into the hotel restraunt. There was a buffet to one side and seating arrangements to the other. If one wanted, he/she could either get food from the buffet or order something from the kitchen. Being an all expenses paid trip, the family could order anything they wanted and it wouldn't cost them a single Lien. Ace was well aware of this fact, much to the dismay of the kitchen staff and Ozpin's personnal bank account.

What? Someone has to have paid for the hotel and everything.

"So kids, what're you going to get?" Taiyang asked as they sat down at a table. Qrow immediately grabbed the menu listing the variety of alcoholic drinks the hotel had.

"I want a strawberry sundae." Ruby said.

"Real food first." Taiyang said, going into 'dad' mode. Ruby pouted as she reconsidered her options.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ordering a huge bowl of ramen." Ace said as he waved over a waiter.

"Can I get your order?" The waiter politely said.

"Give the the biggest bowl of pork ramen you got." Ace said. The waiter nodded as he took down the order.

"I'll take some sweet and spicy chicken with noodles." Yang spoke up. "The spicier the better." The blonde huntress in training said.

"Alright, anything else?" The waiter asked.

"Steak, medium rare." Taiyang spoke up. He looked at Ruby, expectantly.

"Cheesburger, no onions and extra pickles." Ruby said.

"I'll have an order of chicken on rice," Qrow said, "and whatever you call this thing." The alcoholic hunter said as he pointed to a drink on the bar menu. It looked like a fish bowl filled with blue liquied along with glowing ice cubes. The waiter nodded before leaving.

"Didn't know you drank such… fruity alcohol, Qrow." Taiyang said in amusement.

"What? Regular beer and whiskey gets boring after a while. This helps mix things up." Qrow defended. The family casually chatted, unaware of what was ocurring in the kitchen.

"Where'd you get the chef getups?" A lackey asked Raymond.

"I know a guy on the eastside. Runs a costume shop." Raymond said. He went to where the orders were left and quickly looked through them. He found the one for Ace's table and smiled. He and his lackey moved off to the side and pretended to be doing chef stuff while the food was being prepared. When the ramen was put on the tray for Ace's table, both goons crowded around it. The lackey pulled out the vial while Raymond supervised.

"Remember, just a few drops. Anymore and the kid might not live to fight." Raymond told his lackey. Both were currently dressed like chefs in the hotel kitchen. In front of them was a giant bowl of pork ramen. Outside the kitchen, Ace and company were sitting at a table, waiting to be fed.

"Don't worry man, I got it. I got it." The lackey said as he took out the small vial of liquid. The lackey uncorked it and positioned it over the giant bowl of ramen. He carefully poured three drops into the ramen.

"Okay, that should be enough. Re-cork the vial and let's get out of here." Raymond said as he wiped his forehead in relief. That relief turned to dread when an unsuspecting chef jostled the lacky. The underling let go of the vial, and it fell into the ramen. Both goons stared at the ramen in shock, unable to do anything for a full ten seconds.

"Take it out!" Raymond furiously whispered. Because the ramen was extremely hot, the lackey got a ladle and fished the vial out of the dish. The lackey was on the verge of crying when he saw that the vial was completely empty.

"We are so royally screwed." The lackey said as he took the vial out of the ladle. Raymond was about to respond, but a waiter came in at that moment.

"This dish ready?" He asked. Raymond dumbly nodded. Without another word, the waiter took the big bowl of ramen and gave it to Ace. Both goons cringed when they saw the red eyed boy consume the bowl at a furious pace.

"Yep, we are completely and utterly screwed." Raymond said as he and the lackey walked away.

"So, what'ya wanna do with the final hours of our lives?" The lackey asked. Raymond thought for a few seconds.

"Wanna get hammered and watch anime?" Raymond asked.

"A noble use of the last of our time here on Remnant." The lackey said as he nodded in agreement. Back with the family, Ace was nearly done with his bowl of ramen, and he was already starting to feel the effects. It wasn't anything big, just a little lightheadedness. He disregarded it, thinking that he had eaten his ramen too fast this time. On the way back to his room, he was having a hard time concentrating.

"Guess my fights today took more out of me than I thought." Ace told himself as he bid the others good night. "I'll just sleep it off." The red eyed boy said as he placed his hat on the nightstand and laid down.

 _Ace was back in Marineford. All around him fighting was going on. One thing got his attention though. Akainu was standing over Luffy._

" _Luffy!" Ace yelled as he ran in his brother's direction._

" _Ace help!" A new voiced called out. Ace turned and saw another Akainu standning over Ruby and Yang. Ace froze, unsure of what to do._

" _ **HIKEN!"**_ _Ace shouted as he pointed a fist in each direction. Both Akainus sneered at Ace's attack before countering with their own magma. Ace's attack dissipated, not changing anything. The Akainus were still standing over Luffy, Yang, and Ruby. Ace looked in each direction helplessly. Both Akainus had raised a magma covered fist, ready to end the lives of their victims._

" _Ace!" Ruby and Yang yelled in desperation. Luffy just looked up at the admiral in fear, unable to move or talk. Ace knew he could only save either Luffy or the sisters. Ace tried to come to some sort of decision, but was unable to. Those seconds of uncertainty cost Ace. Both Akainus brought their fists down on their victims._

" _NO!" Ace yelled._

"AH!" Ace yelled as he sat up in bed. He was drenched in sweat and was very hot. This wasn't the kind of heat he usually had. This was the kind of heat that meant something was seriously wrong with his body. He got off his bed and staggered into the bathroom. He turned on the light and looked into the sink mirror. His normally bright red eyes had dulled and were now bloodshot. He suddenly felt something inside him lurch. He coughed up blood into the sink. Ace wiped the excess blood off his mouth as he stared at the blood in the sink.

"The Hell is going on with me?" Ace asked as he felt another fit of coughing overtake him. More blood was splattered on the bathroom sink as Ace struggled to control his coughing. Once his coughing fit had ended, Ace rinsed the blood on the sink into the drain and rinsed out his mouth. Ace stood there, taking deep breaths as he tried to think of some way this could have happened to him. He staggered back to bed and sat down, though didn't go to sleep.

"After that dream, there's no way I'm going back to sleep." Ace muttered. The red eyed boy reasoned that a night without sleep wouldn't kill him. He was sure he would have more than enough stamina to compensate for his fight tomorrow with Pyrrha.

Reality seemed to have wanted to screw over Ace at that moment, for his narcolepsy chose to rear its ugly head.

… **Meanwhile…**

"You had one job," Boss man said as he stared at hungover forms of Raymond and his lackey, "and a simple one at that. Do you realize that you just killed the kid? There was enough in there to kill ten people, and you just gave it all to a thirteen year old." Boss man said.

"It wasn't our fault Boss, another chef jostled us." Raymond weakly defended.

"You're supposed to be my second in command, Raymond. It reflects bad on me if you can't even plan for a crowded kitchen." Boss man said. "I'm in a good mood, so I won't kill you… yet. If, by the slimmest of chances, the boy survives and makes it to the tournament, then I'll just break your arms. If he loses to Pyrrha, then I'll let you go with nothing more than a broken thumb, okay?" Boss man darkly said.

"R-r-right Boss." Raymond said, stuttering out of fear. The lackey didn't even bother responding. He was too busing trying and failing not to defficate in his own pants.

"Get these two failures out of here." Boss man said. Both were dragged out of the room.

… **Back At The Hotel…**

 _Ace was facing the god Monty. They were back in the white room, exactly the way Ace remembered it._

" _I''ve given it some thought Ace, and I decided to let you go back to your world if you really want to." Monty said as he pointed to a door that said "One Piece World."_

" _Just go through that door, and you'll be back with your friends and family." Monsty said. As if by magic, Luffy appeared on Monty's right alongside Garp, Shanks, Makino, and Whitebeard. Ace smiled when he saw them. He was about to go embrace them, but Monty spoke up._

" _However, if you do leave, you'll be leaving behind friends and family." Monty said. On Monty's left Ruby, Yang, Qrow, Taiyang, and Sally appeared. Ace stopped in his tracks, adopting a conflicted expression when he fully realized what Monty had said._

" _What're you waiting for Ace? Let's go be pirates!" Luffy exclaimed._

" _We're going to be hunters, right Ace?" Ruby asked._

" _C'mon, it's not too late to join the marines." Garp said._

" _We're going to Beacon together, aren't we?" Yang asked._

" _I want to get to know you more, Ace. How about some sake on my ship?" Shanks asked._

" _Kid you got class in the morning, hurry up and come home." Qrow said._

" _The Whitebeard Pirates need their Division two commander, son." Whitebeard said._

" _Ruby and Yang are worried about you." Taiyang said._

" _I miss you Ace, please come home." Makino said._

" _You were supposed to visit me in Vale, Ace." Sally said._

 _Ace looked at both groups of people with desperation. How could he choose? No matter what he said, he would be abandoning peopple he loved._

" _This is what you wanted originally, wasn't it? To go back to your old world?" Monty asked. Ace backed away as he tried to form some sort of coherent thought._

" _Please don't make me choose." Ace begged._

Ace's head snapped up when he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Ace! You awake yet?" Yang's voice said through the door.

"Yeah." Ace said, his voice slightly raspy. He tried getting up, but found he couldn't concentrate as easily. He fell to the floor in a jumble of limbs and bed sheets. Ace pulled himself up and looked at the clock. He gasped when he saw it was half past four in the afternoon. He would be fighting Pyrrha in less than a half hour.

"Well hurry up! We're leaving soon!" Yang said before walking down the hall to her room. With a grunt of effort, Ace stood and went to the bathroom mirror. He cringed when he saw his reflection. His eyes were even more bloodshot than before. No longer were they the radiate crimson they always were, they were now a dull red. His skin was pale and sweating. There were faint dark circles under Ace's eyes. The thirteen year old found that it was getting harder to breathe. His heart was going a mile a minute. Ace felt something in his stomach give. He vomited blood and stomach acid into the sink. The red eyed boy rinsed out his mouth and the sink, not wanting anyone to know what was happening to him.

The wise thing to do would have been to tell Taiyang and Qrow. They would have most likely taken him to the hospital, which means Ace wouldn't make it in time to fight Pyrrha. She would win by default. No, Ace wouldn't allow that. He owed it to Pyrrha to fight her one on one. He owed it to Yang and Ruby to try to win the Mistral Tournament. He owed it to himself to fight no matter what.

Ace did his best to make himself look normal. He washed his face and took a lightining fast thirty second shower. He put on a long sleeve shirt to hide as much of his paleness as he could. When he put on his hat, he angled the brim so it would cover his bloodshot eyes. He opened the door to his room and made his way down to the dining area. Ace knew that if he tried eating anything, he would end up vomiting it out. Ruby and Yang would consider it weird though if he told them he wasn't hungry. He went over to the buffet table and grabbed an entire leg of ham. He then discreetly tore off most of it, leaving a small bite size chunk. He then made his way outside where his group was already waiting for him. He made a big show of eating the small bit of ham. Though he had to fight to swallow it, Ace was somewhat positive that he would be able to hold down that little piece of ham.

"Ready to go Ace?" Taiyang asked. Ace nodded and began walking ahead of everyone. He hoped above all else that they would leave him alone just for today.

"You nervous Ace?" Yang asked as she sped up to walk alongside him.

"Nope." Ace said in his slightly raspy voice.

"Your voice sounds weird. You got a cold or something?" Yang asked.

"Uh, yeah. Must have been the blizzard I had to fight in." Ace said, thinking up lies on the spot.

"That's not gonna affect your fight today, is it?" Yang asked, slightly concerned.

"You know it'll take more than a cold to bring me down Yang." Ace said. He didn't bother mentioning that whatever was happening to him was definitely not a cold.

"Isn't that the truth." Yang said, lightly chuckling. "After you beat Pyrrha, I'll get you some warm milk and we'll play _Ultimate Kung Fu Ninja Death Battle_." Yang said. "That always makes me and Ruby feel better whenever we're sick." Yang said.

"I'm still not very good at that game." Ace said in his slightly raspy voice. Though he would have preffered to stay silent, Ace could see that Yang was planning on talking with him the entire way to the stadium. He might as well try to have a normal conversation to avoid suspicion. Yang laughed when she heard this.

"Blieve me, I know. You're amazing at fighting in real life, but when it comes to video games you crash and burn." The blonde thirteen year old said. "If it makes you feel any better, you could probably kill every character in that game if you had to fight them." Yang said while lightly slugging Ace's arm.

"That doesn't really help when you've beaten me for the sixth time in a row." Ace said. Yang chuckled in response. The red eyed boy felt the urge to cough, but pushed it down before it could get any further. As each minute passed, Ace could practically feel himself getting weaker. It wasn't by very much. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but it was there nonetheless. How this would affect his fighting prowess remained to be seen. The walk to the stadium seemed to take forever in Ace's mind. Finally, to Ace's relief, they were at the combatants entrance.

"Well Ace, know that whether you win or lose, you've made us all very proud." Taiyang said as he smiled down at what he considered his nephew.

"Although it would be nice if you won." Qrow said. On the outside Ace was smiling, but on the inside Ace was very nervous. His insides were starting to hurt and it was getting harder to breathe with each passing minute. Even though he was aware of what was happening to him, Ace still said nothing. Call it stubborness on his part, but Ace was determined to fight under any condition.

"Don't hit Pyrrha too hard." Ruby said while briefly hugging Ace. The eleven year old girl let go of Ace and went to stand next to her father and uncle. That just left Yang. The blonde thirteen year old found herself feeling slightly self conscious at that moment. She felt as if she sould say something meaningful to Ace before he fights. The girl reflexively started combing her hand through her hair as she looked at the floor.

"Ace… whether you win or lose, just know that you'll still be amazing in my book." Yang said, her cheeks gaining a rosy hue. Ace looked at her in slight surprise. Yang wasn't one to get sentimental like this.

"Thanks Yang… that actually means a lot to me." Ace genuinely said. Knowing that his family would love him wether he won or lost relieved some of the pressure he was feeling. The blonde girl lingered for a few seconds before bringing Ace into a quick hug. It was so brief that he didn't even have time to comprehend that Yang had hugged him. She quickly made her way to stand with her sister, hoping that her hair would hide her burning face.

"I have to go. I'll see you all after the fight." Ace said before walking down the combatants only hall. As Yang and her family made their way to the seating area, Yang couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Ace walked into the combatants waiting area and found Pyrrha already waiting there. She smiled when she saw her friend.

"Hello Ace. Are you ready for our match?" Pyrrha asked. Ace wanted to make sure Pyrrha didn't know there was something wrong with him, so he did his best to sound healthy.

"I've been looking forward to it since we met. Better not go easy on me because we're friends." Ace said as he smiled at Pyrrha, his hat still hiding most of his face from sight.

"Nor should you. This is a test of our abilities Ace. Giving anything less than our best would be disrespecting the tournament." Pyrrha said, not noticing the slight wince Ace got. "They're about to call us out. We should probably get ready." Pyrrha said as she stood in front of the hall that would lead them into the arena. Ace nodded and stoood next to her. Ace had Straw and Spade holstered while Pyrrha had her sword and shield on her hands. Both finalists started walking down the hallyway, the roar of the crowd steadily getting louder an louder.

"And here they are, the two finalists, Pyrrha Nikos and Portgas D. Ace!" An announcer exclaimed into the microphone as Ace and Pyrrha exited the hallway and stepped onto the arena. Ace and Pyrrha nodded to each other once before going to stand at different ends of the arena. Ace put his hands on the handles of Straw and Spade, but didn't draw them out yet. Pyrrha raised her shield and held her sword to one side, fully prepared for battle.

3…

2…

1…

GO!

Ace pulled out Straw and Spade and charged Pyrrha. The redhead turned her sword into a spear, put her shield on her back, and went to meet Ace. Right before clashing, Ace holstered Straw and pulled out its sword. Pyrrha slashed at Ace's shoulder. Ace blocked with his sword and aimed Spade at Pyrrha. Pyrrha pulled her spear back and turned around. Ace fired and the bullet hit Pyrrha's shield. The redhead turned again and tried to slash at Ace's head. The red eyed boy ducked and sent a kick at Pyrrha's midsection.

Pyrrha jumped over the kick and, using her spear as a pole vault, launched herself a few meters away. Almost instantly Pyrrha turned her spear into a rifle and fired at Ace. The red eyed boy blocked each bullet sent at him, retaliating every now and then with Spade. Pyrrha pulled out her shield to block the ammo sent at her. Ace took a deep breath of air before charging at Pyrrha again. The redhead turned her rifle into a sword and readied herself for Ace's assault. The red eyed boy holstered Spade and pulled out its blade. Now he had a sword in each hand.

Ace swung with Spade. Pyrrha parried with her sword. Ace jabbed with Straw. Pyrrha raised her shield to defend. Ace used his superior strength to push Pyrrha off balance. He tried to land a hit, but Pyrrha threw her shield at Ace's face. The red eyed boy was forced to duck as the shield went sailing past him. He wasn't ready when Pyrrha jabbed her spear into his midsection. She then lifted Ace using her spear, throwing him clear across the arena. Ace gasped as he felt his body flair with pain. That strike should not have hurt that much, but whatever was in his body was making him far more susceptible to it. He grit his teeth when he finally landed on the arena floor. He got up and gazed at Pyrrha. She had retrieved her shield and was now waiting to see what he would do.

Though he could feel his energy draining away, Ace was far from done. His stamina was considered inhuman for a reason. Even with whatever was happening with his body, Ace could still fight for a long time. Ace grabbed his swords and ran at Pyrrha again, intent on winning this confrontation. Pyrrha saw an opportunity and decided to take it. She flipped her sword so she was holding it in a reverse grip. She let Ace slash at her shield. When he tried to slash with Spade, Pyrrha blocked with her hand, briefly touching the metal of Spade. She turned and did the same thing with Straw. Confident that her polarity would take care of the rest, Pyrrha flipped her sword so she was holding it properly.

Ace slashed with Spade which Pyrrha blocked with her shield. Ace feinted a swing with Straw, which Pyrrha fell for. She raised her sword to parry, but was shocked to see Ace drop Straw and grab the blade of her sword. He quickly pulled himself close to Pyrrha and kneed her in the stomach. The redhead doubled over, not used to such a blow. Her grip on her sword faltered, which Ace took advantage of. He tore the sword from Pyrrha's grasp and tossed it to the other side of the arena. Pyrrha took this opportunity to jump backwards to gain some distance.

Ace picked up Straw and followed Pyrrha. He swung Spade, but somehow missed. He didn't notice Pyrrha discreetly raise her hand and force the blow to go too far to the left. He spun and tried again with Straw only to be met with the same result. Undeterred, the red eyed boy continued to try to hit Pyrrha. The swordless redhead used her polarity to divert each attack, much to the frustration of a certain former pirate. To the rest of the crowd, it seemed like Ace was wasting his energy. Trying to hit Pyrrha was like trying to hit silk billowing in the wind. She seemed to weave out of each attack effortlessly. It got to a point that Ace had enough. He swung one more time, using the momentum from Pyrrha redirecting the attack to transition into an airflare. Mid airflare Ace sheathed Spade and used it to fire at Pyrrha. The redhead raised her shield to block.

While her sight was blocked with her shield, Ace reached into his pocket and pulled out two dust carttidges. He inserted one into his sword and one into his gun. The orange outlines of Spade seemed to glow as they were infused with red dust. He fired the gun, and a veritable fireball was sent at Pyrrha. The redhead was so suprised that she didn't react in time. The dust round hit her right in her stomach, causing her to fly backwards. She flipped in midair and landed on her feet, ready for whatever Ace sent at her. Ace fired Spade again, sending a volley of dust ammunition streaking at Pyrrha. The green eyed girl blocked one with her shield, the force causing her to skid back a couple of inches, before dodging the rest. Seeing that she was at a disadvantage if she stayed away, Pyrrha closed the distance between her and Ace.

The red eyed boy raised a flame covered Straw and sent an arc of fire at Pyrrha. The redhead jumped over the fire arc and quickly turned her sword into a rifle. She fired at Ace, who responded by firing his own dust ammunition at Pyrrha. The green eyed girl moved so that her shield was behind her feet. She then used that as a platform to launch herself at Ace. She turned her sword into a spear, aimed, and threw it at Ace. The red eyed boy swung with a flame engulfed Straw, hitting the spear upwards. Pyrrha caught the spear as she fell and slashed at Ace's head. The former pirate did a matrix style dodge to avoid the spear. He then placed his hands on the floor and kicked upwards at Pyrrha.

The redhead caught the kick with her spear before landing on the ground. She readied herself for another confrontation when she saw something shocking. Ace was breathing heavily. Ace was getting _tired_. Pyrrha honestly thought Ace couldn't get tired. The announcers were just as shocked as Pyrrha.

"What's this!? It seems that Ace is getting tired! Folks, I never thought I would see the day when the stamina monster that is Ace would be figting to catch his breath!" One of the announcers exclaimed into his microphone.

"Wow, Pyrrha must really be pushing Ace." Ruby said.

"Guess she's better than we thought." Yang said while watching Ace take deep, ragged breaths. Qrow didn't say anything as he gazed as Ace with narrowed eyes. _Something's wrong with the kid_ , Qrow thought to himself. It wasn't very obvious, but, as an elite hunter, Qrow was able to spot the small diffrences between this Ace and the one who had fought yesterday. This Ace seemed to be trying too hard to stay upright, as if he was scared he would collapse if he relaxed a little. This Ace wasn't moving with as much fluidity as the Ace from yesterday. He seemed to have trouble doing the simplest things. Most of all, this Ace was getting exausted. If there was one thing that Qrow knew about Ace, it's that a match like this wouldn't have even winded him.

"Something's wrong with Ace." Tayang whispered to Qrow. Though he hadn't been in the field for awhile, Taiyang was still an elite huntsman like Qrow. He could spot the differences as well as his former partner.

"I know. I get the feeling Ace knew too, but didn't tell us." Qrow shispered back.

"That does sound like him." Taiyang said as he nodded in agreement. "What should we do?" The blonde man asked.

"Right now, nothing. If he keeps getting worse, I'll get them to call off the match." Qrow said, getting more and more worried as he watched Ace try to catch his breath.

 _Dammit, this isn't good,_ Ace thought to himself as he tried to steady his breathing. _Whatever's happening to me just got a lot faster._ Ace thought as he forced himself not to grip his stomach in pain. He wanted to cough, but knew that coughing up blood here would cause the match to be disqualified. Something had caused his affliction to worsen at a faster rate. He could feel his lungs burning as he had to labor to so much as breath. His heart was beating so fast Ace thought it would come out of his chest. What was most detrimental was that Ace coudln't focus anymore. When he looked at Pyrrha, she not only appeared blurry, but he could see two of her. Ace knew that if he was going to have any chance of winning, it would have to be now.

Pyrrha ran at Ace, intent on finishing him while he was till catching his breath. Ace raised Spade and fired multiple times. Some went wide of Pyrrha while others were close enough for her to have to block the dust rounds. Ace ran as fast as he could at the distracted redhead. Before Pyrrha could raise a defense, Ace tackled her onto the ground. He raised a fist and brought it down on Pyrrha's face only to have the redhead turn her head at the last second. Ace's fist cracked the arena floor a little where he hit. Before he could try again, Pyrrha raised her shield and smashed the rim into Ace's head. The red eyed boy saw stars as he began to fall back from the blow. Only sheer willpower kept Ace from blacking out.

Ace shook his head to clear it, meeting little success. Seeing that he wasn't getting off anytime soon, Pyrrha bashed Ace's head again with her shield. This time the red eyed boy was knocked off of Pyrrha. He lay on the ground, trying to force himself to get back up. He smashed a fist into the ground nd used it to push himself up. Once he was on his feet, Ace looked around with dazed eyes. His mind was blank, still trying to focus itself. Ace turned and saw Pyrrha slashing with her spear. In his dazed state, Ace barely felt the blow along with all the others Pyrrha attacked with. Defense didn't even occur to Ace as he watched Pyrrha attack him over and over. Ace suffered another blow to the head, which sent him stumbling backwards.

Ace was in a semi-conscious state. He couldn't focus on anything. When Ace opened is eyes, the first thing he saw was Pyrrha's red hair.

The very same shade of red worn by one of his most hated enemies.

The same color of his enemie's magma. Rage boiled within Ace as he saw a mirage of the admiral who had killed him.

In his dazed state, Ace didn't see Pyrrha. He just saw the one who had taken everything from him. The former pirate charged, only able to say one word.

"Akainu!" Ace yelled as he brought back his fist and swung at Pyrrha. Straw and Spade were forgotten as Ace resorted to fisticuffs. If you were to look closely, you would see that Ace's forearm and fist were slightly darker than the rest of his body. In his semi-conscious state, Ace had activated his **BUSOSHOKU HAKI**. Pyrrha brought up her shield to block Ace's fist, but was startled when she was laucnhed backwards from the force of the blow. She landed on her feet, but had to react quickly as Ace was already upon her. He swung another fist faintly coated with Haki. Pyrrha ducked under, but wasn't prepared for the knee Ace smashed into her jaw. Her head shot upwards as Ace steamrolled a punch into her stomach. The green eyed prodigy gasped but managed to stay on her feet.

Pyrrha swung her sword, but Ace caught it with his hand. He pulled Pyrrha towards him and slugged her in her jaw. Pyrrha went stumbling backwards. Ace followed and raised his fist. Pyrrha tensed as she raised her shield to block the blow. Pyrrha felt her arm go numb from the force of Ace punching her shield. He kicked the bottom of her shield, causing her arm to go upwards. The semi-conscious boy pulled back his fist, now darker than before. Before Pyrrha could react, Ace delivered a haymaker to her midsection. Pyrrha opened her mouth, but no noise would come. She doubled over Ace's fist. When he pulled it back, she collapsed to the ground.

Pyrrha got up, one hand clutching her stomach and the other holding her sword. She wouldn't give up just yet. In a way, she was just as stubborn as Ace. The red eyed boy raised a fist shimmering slightly with Haki and was about to bring it down when his head finally cleared. He no longer saw Akainu, but instead he saw a defeated Pyrrha. Ace looked down in shame at what he was about to do. He didn't want to fight Pyrrha anymore. Being the warrior she is, Pyrrha forced herself to get up. She swung at Ace, who ducked under and placed his palm on her stomach. Before she could do anything else, Pyrrha found herself shoved out of the ring. She landed out of bounds.

Pyrrha had just lost.

The crowd went wild, causing more noise in one minute than they had in the entire time the MIstral Tournament was going on. Pyrrha sighed as she got up. She hadn't won, but she wasn't mad about it. She had lost to Ace. The fact she had lasted so long showed just how much skill the red haired prodigy had. Pyrrha walked up toward the arena, intent on congratulating Ace herself. She grew concerned when she saw Ace standing in place, gasping for air.

"Ace?" Pyrrha asked as she started walking faster. Ace's hands were shaking unctontrollably. Qrow narrowed his eyes as he prepared to jump in.

"Ace?" Pyrrha asked as her walk turned into a jog. Ace was staring with wide eyes at the floor, about to go into shock. Something within him finally gave out. Ace felt something snap before coughing up blood and falling on the arena floor. Pyrrha's jog turned into a run and Qrow jumped from the seating area, intent on landing on the arena.

"ACE!" Pyrrha yelled as she quickly closed the distance between them. She fell to her knees, not sure what to do. At that moment Qrow landed on the arena.

"What's happening to him!?" Prrha asked the older hunter. Qrow pushed Pyrrha to the side as he checked Ace's vitals. He became worried when he saw that Ace was bearly breathing.

"Someone better have called the damn paramedics!" Qrow yelled, breaking everyone out of their stupor. The announcers shook away the shock to regard the crowd. You could pactically feel the unease of the spectators. Grimm would be attracted soon if something wasn't done about this.

"It seems something has happened to one of our contestants. Remain calm everyone. Everything is under control." One of the announcers said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. The medical staff was already on the arena floor, placing Ace in a stretcher.

"Is he going to be okay!?" Pyrrha earnestly asked. The paramedic didn't answer, too busy carrying Ace out of the arena floor. Qrow looked up at the audience and caught Taiyang ushering the sisters to an exit. The grizzled hunter gazed at Pyrrha and saw her looking at the ground in worry.

"Was it my fault?" Pyrrha asked, dreading what might happen if Qrow said yes.

"No, kid, it wasn't your fault. Someone did something to Ace, and he probably didn't tell us about it." Qrow said, hoping his words would comfort her. He saw her calm down somehwat, but Pyrrha was still very distressed about Ace's condition.

"Listen kid, I have to go. I'll message you what room he'll be staying in later, alright?" Qrow asked. There was only one hospital in Mistral, so Pyrrha would already know where to go. Pyrrha gave a barely perceptible nod.

"I have to go see my mother. Please make sure to send me the room number." Pyrrha said before walking back to the combatants room. Qrow looked at her again before sighing. He dashed in the direction the medics had taken Ace in. The alcoholic hunter found the medics about to load Ace into a ship that would take him to the hospital. He was allowed to enter as he was technically Ace's dad.

Qrow messaged Taiyang, telling him that they were on their way to the hospital. The alcoholic hunter asked how the sisters were fairing. Taiyang responded that Yang and Ruby were confused and worried mostly. Qrow sighed, not very suprised. He gazed at the prone form of Ace. One of the doctors was pressing an oxygen mask to his mouth while the other was using a needle to administer some sort of medicine. The first doctor removed the oxygen mask when he felt Ace about to have another coughing fit. The red eyed boy coughed up more blood before falling silent.

"Step on it. This kid isn't going to last much longer." One of the doctors told the pilot. Qrow barely felt the slight jolt as the pilot increased his speed. He was too busy looking at Ace. The alcoholic hunter clenched his hand in frustration and worry.

"Why does this always happen to you, Ace?" Qrow muttered, his gaze not leaving the prone thirteen year old.

 _Ace opened his eyes and found himself staring at… himself. There was another Ace here, except that this Ace looked just like he did before he was reincarnated, tattoes and all. Thirteen year old Ace found himself looking up at twenty year old Ace._

" _Ace?" Thirteen year old Ace asked._

" _Yeah, Ace?" Twenty year old Ace responded._

" _What's going on here?" Thirteen year old Ace asked._

" _You tell me." Twenty year old Ace replied, not giving a helpfull answer. Ace gave his taller counterpart an annoyed look._

" _Well, the last thing I remember is shoving Pyrrha out of the arena. After that, everything kind of blacked out." The younger Ace replied. A sudden thought struck him. "This is a dream, isn't it?" Ace asked, hesitation very clear in his voice. His last two dreams had been unpleasant to say the least. He didn't need another one right now._

" _Interesting world you're in." Older Ace said, ignoring Ace's question. "I mean, it's pretty dull compared to our world, but it does have its perks." Older Ace said. Younger Ace nodded, not very sure where his older self was going with this._

" _i definitely wouldn't choose to live here though. Don't you agree?" Older Ace said, adopting a manipulative smirk._

" _This world isn't so bad." Ace defended._

" _But you would choose your original world over this one, right?" Older Ace asked. Younger Ace frowned, not liking the direction the conversation had taken. Both worlds had their pros and cons. Ace didn't consider it very fair to choose one over the other._

" _You can't just choose one world over another." Ace said, causing the older Ace to scowl._

" _Yes you can. Why are you even trying to argue this? Our world is so much better than Remnant." The older Ace growled, causing the younger Ace to take a few steps backwards. "Just look at these people. They're barely surviving as it is! We both know you don't like how they hide behind their walled cities." Older Ace said._

" _They do that because of the Grimm." Younger Ace defended._

" _The Grimm aren't even that strong!" The older Ace exclaimed. "You managed to kill one when you were six! If Whitebeard were here, the Grimm wouldn't even be a problem." The older Ace said._

" _If everyone had Pops' strength then nothing would be a problem." Younger Ace said._

" _That brings me to another point. The people here are weak, Ace. They don't fight the way you're used to. Sure, with their fancy weapons and aura they can fight some mindless monsters, but the moment you take away both of those, they become sitting ducks. Remember your fight with Jinbei? The one that lasted five days? These people will never be able to give you that kind of fight." Older Ace said. It was true. The moment someone had their aura depleted, they were as vulnerable as regular people. Ace highly doubted anyone on Remnant would have enough aura to fight continuously for an afternoon, let alone five days._

" _These people don't have devil fruit or Haki. They make due with what they have." Younger Ace countered._

" _But you do! You don't need those little guns of yours. The only reason you have them is to fit in with everyone else." The older Ace said. The younger Ace was about to reply, but Older Ace cut him off. "Before you say anything, let me ask you this. Do you honestly think that being a huntsman is better than being a pirate?"_

 _Ace had nothing to say._

"Well Doc, how is he?" A concerned Taiyang asked. Next to him was an equally concerned Qrow. In the background Yang and Ruby could be seen sitting on some chairs in a small waiting area. The doctor sighed as he looked over Ace's paperwork.

"Not good, I'm afraid. We ran tests on his blood, and found a whole cocktail of dangerous substances in it. It's a miracle he's survived this long. Any normal person would have died within minutes. Whatever's inside him has taken its toll though. Ace has internal bleeding all along his stomach and small intestine. We've had to pump blood out of his lungs, lest they collapse." The doctor said before pausing to look over some more information. With each affliction the doctor was stating, Taiyang and Qrow were getting grimmer and grimmer.

"Whatever he's ingested has caused his nervous system to act up every now and then. He spasms uncontrollably when this happens. His body functions are close to failing. We're doing all we can, but I don't know if he'll be able to recover." The doctor said. Qrow and Taiyang looked at each other before looking at the sisters.

"One thing I can tell you, though you may have already been able to guess, is that this was no accident. Someone deliberately drugged Ace." The doctor said. Having said everything he could, the doctor turned and walked down the hall. Qrow clenched his fist so hard that, if it wasn't for his aura, blood would have flown out of his palm. Taiyang had known Qrow for so long that he was able to guess what Qrow was thinking.

"Qrow, calm down." Taiyang said as he laid a hand on his former partner's shoulder. Qrow rudely brushed it off.

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down Tai. You heard the what the doctor said. Someone did this to Ace, and I'm going to find out who." Qrow growled as he turned to exit the building. Taiyang stepped in front of him, blocking the hallway.

"Move." Qrow said while glaring at the blonde huntsman.

"So what? So you can go running around the shady parts of town, looking for someone you have no leads on? You should be here Qrow. If the worst does happen, then Yang and Ruby are going to need our support." Taiyang said, not moving an inch.

"Tai, move or else." Qrow said, though his glare had lessened somewhat.

"Qrow, I'm not moving. You're not thinking clearly." Taiyang said, being the voice of reason in this situation. It's too bad that the voice of reason is usually ignored.

"I'm warning you, Tai. I don't want Ruby and Yang to have to see their father and uncle fight each other." Qrow said, sparing a glance at the sisters.

"Then don't leave." Taiyang stated. Qrow growled in annoyance.

"Tai, someone did this to Ace, and you're telling me to do nothing!?" Qrow exclaimed.

"Dammit Qrow! Don't you think I'm angry too!?" Taiyang snapped, having had enough of Qrow's attitude. "Believe me, I want to go out there with you and annihilate whoever did this to Ace! I'm not going to though, because right now, I have to be here for Yang and Ruby. I have to be here for Ace. You have to be here too, Qrow." Taiyang said, his scowl morphing into a pleading frown. Qrow glared at his former partner, unsure of what to do. For a few seconds, Taiyang thought Qrow would actually force his way past him. The rage seemed to leave Qrow, however. The alcoholic hunter's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Dammit Tai, why do you always have to make so much sense?" Qrow weakly complained. Taiyang silently sighed in relief that he wouldn't have to wrestle Qrow to the ground in a hospital hallway.

"One of us has to." Taiyang said. He and Qrow went to sit next to Yang and Ruby, already emotionally exhausted. They both absentmindedly noticed two shady looking males with obviously broken arms enter the hospital.

"How is he?" Yang asked, worry etched all over her face.

"The doctors are doing everything they can." Taiyang answered, trying to dodge the question.

"It's that bad, huh?" Yang asked, knowing what her father meant. The blonde huntsman internally sighed. Sometimes his daughters were too smart for their own good. Ruby leaned on her sister, seeking emotional support from the blonde huntress in training. Yang wrapped an arm around her little sister's shoulder while Taiyang took her other hand. He noticed how hard Yang was squeezing his hand.

"Ace has been here before. If he can cheat death once, he can do it again." Qrow said with slight optimism. It did little to boost the spirits of everyone there. In fact, the mere mention of death had put them in an even sadder funk.

"Dad?" Ruby asked.

"Yes sweetie?" Taiyang said.

"I don't want Ace to die." Ruby said, her voice breaking a bit.

"Neither do I." Taiyang responded. He wished he could say something more reassuring, but at this point he could do nothing. Qrow was thinking similar thoughts.

The only other time they had ever felt this useless was when Summer died.

" _Why is this such a big deal!?" Ace exclaimed._

" _Because you seem to have forgotten who you really are, who your actual family is." Twenty year old Ace said. "The Ace I knew wouldn't have even bothered with weapons. That's what your devil fruit is for. The Ace I knew didn't need to go to some school to learn to fight. You were a master of combat before you were even ten. Most of all, the Ace I knew would never have become a huntsman. You're a pirate, Ace. That's the way it should be. Why be a huntsman when you can be the greatest pirate to sail on Remnant?" The older Ace asked._

" _Don't you think I haven't thought about being a pirate again? I've had to change for a reason. My old way of life just doesn't fit in here. There aren't thousands of islands for me to explore. There isn't anything like the Grand Line or the New World. There's four main cities: Atlas, Vale, Vacuo, and Mistral, plus a few dozen villages here and there." Ace said. "I'm not saying I don't miss it, but I can't be a pirate here." The red eyed boy said._

" _So you're settling for the next best thing? Huh, guess that explains Ruby and Yang." Twenty year old Ace said. Ace narrowed his eyes when he heard this._

" _What do Yang and Ruby have to do with this?" Ace asked._

" _Isn't it obvious? You can't have Luffy anymore, so you tried to replace him." Twenty year old Ace said. Thirteen year old Ace scowled and took a menacing step towards his clone._

" _I did not try to replace Luffy!" Ace exclaimed, his fists clenching in anger._

" _Oh really? Ruby is caring, kind, and innocent. Yang is brash headed and loves excitement. Put those together and you get Luffy in a nutshell. Admit it Ace. Yang and Ruby are just replacements." Twenty year old Ace said while sneering at his younger counterpart._

"While Ace is still far from safe, he's stabilized for the time being." A doctor said. "If you want to see him, you may."

"Yes, we would like to see him." Taiyang said. Yang and Ruby perked up at the thought of seeing Ace, so they jumped out of their seats and eagerly followed the doctor. The MD led them down a series of hallways before coming to Ace's room.

"He's right in here. His condition is still grave, so try to refrain from harming him in any way." The doctor said. Ruby and Yang barely paid him any attention as they impatiently opened the door.

"Ace you ok-" Yang trailed off when she saw the state Ace was in. His normally slightly tanned skin tone was a pale gray. Various veins and arteries were visible all along his body along with a sheen of sweat. An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth and nose, but even then his breathing was ragged and uneven. Though his eyes were closed, Yang was willing to bet they were bloodshot.

Yang's excitement fizzled out as she gazed at the unconscious form of one of her best friends. Ruby reflexively grabbed Yang's hand in an attempt to comfort both herself and her sister.

"Ace…" Ruby murmured. _He's not supposed to look so… vulnerable_ , Ruby thought to herself. Ace was a pillar of strength to Ruby. She idolized him for not only his power, but also his gentleness. The hands that could bend metal bars with ease were the same hands that would lift Ruby up so she could reach the cookie jar. He always seemed to radiate power and confidence. Even when he had nearly been killed by a Beowulf, Ace was up and smiling the next time Ruby saw him.

He was an invincible fighter. More than that, he was _her_ invincible fighter. He wasn't supposed to get hurt. He wasn't supposed to look so weak. To see him in such a state was a huge blow to the silver eyed girl.

 _Not again_ , Yang thought to herself. Waiting around to see if Ace was going to die had been one of the worst moments of her life. _Please don't make me go through that again,_ Yang silently begged as she walked to the edge of the hospital bed. Tears formed at the edge of her eyes as she watched her childhood friend wither away.

" _Why're you doing this!? Why does this matter!?" Ace yelled._

" _You tell me." The older Ace replied. "I'm just a representation of your thoughts. Deep down, you feel the exact way I do. You just don't want to admit it."_

" _I do not believe what you believe. Yang and Ruby are each their own person. They could never replace Luffy." Ace said. Older Ace sneered and was about to talk, but Ace held up his hand. "On the other hand, Luffy could never replace Yang and Ruby." Ace said while glaring at his older counterpart._

" _Alright, fine, you win. Yang and Ruby are not Luffy." The older Ace said. Ace raised an eyebrow, not expecting older Ace to give up so easily. "Who do you care about more?" Twenty year old Ace suddenly asked._

" _What?" Ace asked in confusion._

" _It's not a hard question. Who do you care about more?" Older Ace said, sneering at his younger counterpart. "Does Luffy not mean as much to you anymore?" Older Ace said. Younger Ace scowled at his older counterpart._

" _I never said I cared less about Luffy." Ace growled. His older counterparts manipulative ways were really starting to anger him._

" _Then do you prefer Luffy over Yang and Ruby?" Twenty year old Ace asked. Ace was silent, not wanting to talk lest his clone manipulate his words again._

" _Is that a no? Huh, it's a real shame you prefer a blonde bimbo and socially awkward freak over your own brother." Older Ace said, causing younger Ace's scowl to deepen. He made a fist with both hands, ready to jump into action at any moment._

" _I'm warming you. Do not talk about Yang and Ruby like that." Ace said as fire started appearing on his fingers._

" _Or what? You'll hurt me? I'd like to see you try." Older Ace said while making a 'come at me' motion with his hand. That was all the invitation Ace needed. He pulled his fist back, ready to attack his older counterpart._

" _ **HI**_ _-gack!" Ace gasped as older Ace suddenly appeared in front of him, fist imbedded in his stomach._

" _ **HIKEN**_ _." Older Ace stated. Thirteen year old Ace was sent rocketing backwards as a pillar of fire engulfed his entire front half. Ace flipped and landed on his feet._

" _ **SHINKAI: SHIRANUI!**_ " _Ace yelled as he hurled two lances of fire at his older clone. Twenty year old Ace laughed before sidestepping the first one and catching the second one. He flipped it and sent it speeding back at Ace. The thirteen year old boy narrowly dodged the flaming projectile only to have his clone appear behind him and trap him in a headlock._

" _I don't think you understand just how outclassed you are." Older Ace said. Thirteen year old Ace frantically kicked, punched, and bit as he tried to get out of his clone's grasp._

" _I'm what you were before you died. You know, the one who Monty said could turn everyone here to ash? There's no way in Hell you could ever beat me now that Monty made you weaker." Older Ace said as he tightened his hold on his younger clone's neck. Ace's struggling increased as he felt his air supply dwindle._

" _If you try to fight fire with fire, you're going to end up burned." Older Ace said as his limbs turned to flame, Ace still trapped within their grasp._

"How long has Ace been in this state?" Ozpin asked through his scroll.

"About thirteen days now." Qrow replied, his speech noticeably slurred. It was very obvious that Qrow had been partaking in some comfort drinks.

"Is it a wise idea to be drinking now of all times?" Ozpin asked.

"Give me a damn break, Oz. I've been trying to cope with the stress." Qrow said, his voice taking a somber tone. Ozpin internally sighed, having now just realized how hurt and worried Qrow was.

"Qrow, I've already got Glynda working on tracing that poison. One way or another, we will find whoever did this." Ozpin said in hopes of raising Qrow's falling spirits.

"What does the Witch know about tracing poison?" Qrow asked, using his nickname for Glynda. She disliked it for obvious reasons.

"She herself knows nothing. However, she knows people who do that kind of thing for a living." Ozpin said. Qrow was silent for a moment, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

"Why are you doing this Ozpin?" Qrow suddenly asked.

"Doing what?" Ozpin asked in confusion.

"Going to all this trouble to track down the people who drugged Ace. I appreciate your help, but you didn't have to do any of this." Qrow stated. Ozpin considered his response. He was wondering whether he should lie, or say the truth. He decided to go with the truth.

"Qrow, I've made a lot of mistakes in my lifetime. This is another one. Ace was in Mistral because of me. If I hadn't put him in the Mistral Tournament, he wouldn't be in the hospital right now. Consider this me trying to make up for one mistake." Ozpin said, revealing the horrible guilt he felt at the moment.

"... Ozpin… thank you." Qrow said. Maybe it as the alcohol talking, or maybe Qrow truly did appreciate what Ozpin was doing for him.

"Thiink nothing of it, Qrow. Please keep me updated on Ace's condition." Ozpin said before hanging up. Qrow put away his scroll before entering the hospital. He walked towards Ace's room and walked in, not even bothering to knock. No one was there anyways. Yang, Ruby, and Taiyang were at the hotel, getting some much needed rest. Pyrrha and her mother had visited a few days ago to see how Ace was doing. Qrow, being fueled by the power of alcohol, didn't need to rest as much as his nieces and former partner.

Qrow sat down at a chair next to Ace. The red eyed boy hadn't really improved. If anything, his condition had slightly worsened. While they hadn't outright said it, the doctors hinted heavily that Ace wouldn't survive this ordeal. He was considered very lucky to have lasted this long.

"You sure have a way of attracting the wrong kind of attention, Ace." Qrow said, wanting to fill the silence in the room. "I mean, it's not your fault, but you've been here before. You just can't stay out of danger, can you? " Qrow said. He looked at Ace before talking again.

"I kind of wish this was like the first time you nearly died. I say that for a few reasons. One, I knew what it was that was killing you. Two, it was pretty easy to kill the one who did that to you. Three, and most importantly…" Qrow paused as he took a shaky breath.

"... I didn't care about you so damn much the first time."

" _I think you're starting to see the point." Twenty year old Ace said as he gazed at the battered and burned form of his younger counterpart._

" _Fuck… you." Ace growled as he struggled to get to his feet. For the first time since he was reborn, Ace found himself completely and utterly outclassed. He couldn't hope to compete against the one Monty himself had said was too strong for Remnant._

" _I'm only trying to beat some sense into you. You don't belong in this world, Ace. The sooner you accept that, the sooner this beating will end." Twenty year old Ace said as he raised a fist engulfed in flames._

" _You… don't… know that." Ace croaked. "I… haven't even seen… most of this world." Ace said before coughing. He paused to catch his breath. "Unlike my past life, I haven't explored every corner of this world. How am I supposed to know if I belong here if I don't know more about Remnant?" Ace said as he stood up._

" _You think visiting a few villages and cities will convince you that you belong here?" Twenty year old Ace asked._

" _I'm not trying to convince myself. I'm trying to convince you." Ace said as he raised an eyebrow in confusion. The older Ace laughed in response._

" _Wow, you really are an idiot. Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once. I'm not some individual entity. I'm you, Ace. Everything that I've said is what your subconscious is thinking, deep down. Whether you want to admit it or not, you're both figuratively and literally arguing with yourself over this." Older Ace said. Younger Ace frowned, not liking what he had just heard._

" _You're telling me that I may or may not think Yang and Ruby are replacements for Luffy?" Ace asked._

" _Yep." Older Ace said._

" _That this world isn't good enough?"_

" _Yes." Older Ace said._

" _That I'm ashamed of myself for changing from the pirate I once was?" Ace asked, displeasure clear on his face._

" _Oh big time." Older Ace said. Younger Ace was about to respond, but older Ace held up his hand. "Ace, listen to me. You don't actually believe all of that… yet. That's why we're arguing right now. One side believes it, the other doesn't. What will happen is up to you to decide." Older Ace said._

" _Right now, you're trying to convince yourself that you're wrong." Older Ace said._

" _That is really confusing." Ace said, his head starting to hurt from all the information._

" _Welcome to the subconscious, Ace. First rule, nothing can ever be simple." Older Ace said, chuckling at his own joke. "Seriously though, you should try to resolve this existential crisis soon. Otherwise it's just gonna build up over time and eventually explode in an unpleasant way."_

" _Wait… I'm gonna explode?" Ace asked in shock._

" _No you idiot. By 'explode' I mean that that you'll probably not be the most mentally sane person, so yeah, figure all this out before you end up in an insane asylum." Older Ace said._

" _One more question." Ace said._

" _Shoot."_

" _Why now?" Ace asked._

" _What do you mean?" Older Ace asked._

" _This sounds like the kind of stuff that has been building up for awhile. Why am I going through this now, and not some time ago?" Ace asked._

" _You were probably too busy to notice before. When you got drugged, your subconscious decided it would be a good time to bring up these existential dilemmas of yours." Older Ace said. Ace nodded. That explanation made enough sense… kind of._

" _What now?" Ace asked._

" _You wake up." Older Ace said._

"Are Yang and Ruby sleeping like they should?" Qrow asked into his scroll.

"Yeah, but it took me awhile to actually make them sleep." Taiyang said on the other line of the communication device.

"I don't blame them. You should probably-"

"Qrow?" A weak, raspy voice said. The alcoholic huntsman's eyes widened as he turned around.

"Ace?" Qrow dumbly asked, unable to think of anything else.

"You got anything to eat?" Ace asked while giving Qrow a lopsided grin.

 _ **A/N: I know, right? Pretty weird place to end the chapter. The thing is, this chapter was a lot longer than I had anticipated, so I kinda just cut it in half. This is the first half. The second half won't be posted right away(gives me time to write the tenth chapter), so that's kind of the explanation for this weak ending.**_

 _ **WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED VOLUME 4 EPISODE 1 THEN READY AT YOUR OWN RISK!**_

 _ **On a separate note, HOLY SHIT VOLUME 4 EPISODE 1 WAS FUCKING INCREDIBLE! If you have not watched it, please go watch it. It's finally on youtube, so no complications there. Was I the only one who found it kind of weird when Salem referred to Adam as 'boy'? Either these villains are older than we thought, or Adam isn't as old as I thought he three new villains introduced have me hyped as Hell. Tyrion is a psychopath, which is always enjoyable. Hazel is a total badass, that voice alone stands out. Wat's whole "I'm better than you," aura is so enjoyable. I loved the way he ripped into Cinder,plus his mustache is gentlemen as fuck.**_

 _ **Speaking of Cinder, she has lost depth perception and can't speak. That's what you get for killing Pyrrha. The Geist was actually a really cool Grimm. Really begs the question, what ARE Grimm? The fight was a good way to introduce the volume.**_

 _ **Anyone else find it a little strange how Ruby can basically fly now? I got a little sad when I saw Jaune wearing Pyrrha's sash.**_

 _ **SPOILERS END HERE!**_

 _ **The next chapter is going to pretty much be the aftermath of all this. This little arc should come to a close either the next chapter or the one after that. I gotta say, I do not regret taking my time with the Mistral Tournament. Up until now, I've basically been rushing the plot so we could get to Beacon. However, I really did enjoy slowing down and covering one thing over multiple chapters instead of a new thing each chapter. Don't get me wrong, I'll still time skip where necessary, but I think things are going to slow down right now, especially with what I have planned.**_

 _ **As always, reviews are appreciated. Knowing what you guys and gals think helps immensely.**_

 _ **I'll see you all next update.**_

 _ **Until then.**_

 _ **Next chapter sneak peak:**_

"You really should be thankful that I found you before Qrow did. He's not quite as… forgiving as me." Taiyang said as cracked his knuckles one by one.

"P-please! Let me go and I'll never bother you again!" Boss man pleaded as he sank further into his chair.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy. You put my family through a lot of pain. It's only fair that I return the favor, right?" Taiyang said as he raised a fist. "Glynda never said I couldn't hurt you a little." The blonde man mused before bringing down his fist.


	9. Chapter 9

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 9: Wrapping up part 1: Clichés, Realizations, and Preperations

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

 _Yang walked the coastline of Patch, admiring the sunset. She noticed a figure standing in the distance, not moving at all. The blonde huntress in training walked in the direction of the other individual, intent on finding out their identity. Once she was close enough, Yang was surprised to see that it was Ace._

" _Hi Ace," Yang said, a smile visible on her face. Ace turned and grinned at his best friend._

" _Didn't expect to see you here." Ace commented, his gaze returning to the ocean. Yang moved and stood next to him, gazing at the horizon._

" _I could say the same thing." Yang shot back. Comfortable silence filled the air around them, neither Ace or Yang saying anything. After a few minutes, Ace spoke up._

" _Yang?" Ace asked, tilting his head in her direction._

" _Yeah?"_

" _I… have to tell you something." Ace said, pausing slightly out of nervousness._

" _Then say it." Yang said with a slight chuckle._

" _The thing is… well… I don't know how to put this." Ace said while scratching the back of his head. Yang started lightly laughing at her friend's nervousness._

" _Cat got your tongue?" Yang teased._

" _Yang, I've known you for most of my life, and I can without a doubt say you are my best friend." Ace suddenly said. "That's how it's been, and that's how I thought it always would be."_

" _Where's all this coming from?" Yang teased, still not understanding where Ace was going with this. Her amusement fizzled out when Ace suddenly grabbed her hand._

" _I used to look at you and I would see someone I could trust and have fun with. Now, whenever I look at you, I feel something else. I don't know how to explain it. My heart starts beating rapidly and I can't think straight." Ace said, never breaking eye contact with Yang. Said blonde haired girl was staring at Ace with nervous eyes._

" _Ace, wh-" Yang tried asking, but as cut off by Ace._

" _Let me talk first, then you can say whatever you want to." Ace said. "To me, you've always been the girl who would dine and dash with me, the girl who would make me play videogames so that she could beat me. You were fun to be around, and even funner to play with. I don't know when, but one day you became something more to me. Suddenly you were the girl I couldn't keep my eyes off, you were the girl I wanted to make happy no matter what."_

" _At some point, you became more to me. I don't know when I started feeling like this, but I do know that I can't keep going without telling you." Ace said. Yang looked at Ace with wide eyes, not bothering to hide the blush that was making her face as red as Ruby's hood._

" _We've been friends for years,Yang. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want to be more than friends." Ace finished, finally breaking eye contact and looking away in nervousness. Yang took a deep breath, processing everything Ace had just told her. Of course, she was surprised Ace would say something like that. However, the more she thought about it, the more she didn't find anything wrong with what Ace had proposed. He was her best friend. Ace understood her better than anybody. Would Ace being her boyfriend really change anything?_

" _Ace…" Yang said, finally coming to a decision. Ace looked at her, hope and fear clear in his eyes. She took his other hand in hers and smiled brightly at him._

" _I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend." Yang said, a small blush gracing her cheeks. Ace's smile was almost as brilliant as the sun when he brought her in for a hug. Yang wrapped her arms around Ace's neck while Ace placed his arms around her lower back. Both stood there, completely content. For those few minutes, the world couldn't touch them._

 _Eventually, the started to break off the hug. Ace's hands froze at Yang's hips when he realized that her face was just a few inches away from Yang's. Considering Yang's arms were still around his neck, Yang must have realized the same thing. For a few seconds, all of time seemed to freeze. Then, their faces started to gravitate towards each other, closing the space between them._

 _Yang was just a few centimeters away from kissing Ace._

 _She could feel the heat radiating off his body._

 _When they were less than three centimeters apart, Yang closed her eyes and awaited the bliss Ace's kiss would bring her._

"Yang! Ruby! Wake up!" Taiyang yelled. Yang bolted upright in her bed, nearly falling off in the process. She took several deep breaths as she tried to get rid of her blush. _Were Ace and I about to… kiss?_ Yang mentally asked herself as she stared at the ground in confusion. The blonde haired girl was experiencing a plethora of emotions at the moment. Obviously, she was confused and tired; she had just been woken up. What was really throwing Yang for a loop was that she was mad, mad at her dad for waking her up. Actually, mad didn't even begin to cover it. Furious was a better way of describing what Yang was feeling.

As much as Yang didn't want to admit it, she had _wanted_ to kiss Ace. _Why would I want that? We're just friends. I mean, yeah his freckles make him look cute and he has really nice eyes and he has some impressive muscles and… I'm starting to detect a pattern here._

"Wuzz going on?" Ruby blearily asked as she sat up in bed.

"Ace woke up!" Taiyang exclaimed as he threw Ruby and Yang their shoes. Ruby caught hers easily, all signs of weariness vanishing the moment Taiyang had mentioned Ace. Yang, still deep in thought, didn't react in time and ended up being hit in her head. The blonde haired girl mumbled a few choice words as she put on her shoes. Soon they were out the door and on their way to the hospital.

"So wanna fill us in?" Yang asked her father.

"See, I was talking to Qrow over the phone, and right in the middle of his sentence Qrow gasps and drops his scroll. Naturally, I start yelling to see what was going on. About five minutes later, Qrow picked up the scroll and told me that Ace had woken up." Taiyang said.

"Of course he chooses to wake up right when we fall asleep." Yang muttered in amusement. The trio was soon inside the hospital, racewalking to Ace's room. When they were right outside of his room, Taiyang stood in front of them, blocking the door.

"What now?" Yang anxiously asked.

"Ruby, Yang, I know you both are relieved and want to see Ace. I get that, but please try not to hug him." The blonde haired man said, much to the confusion of the girls.

"But hugs are nice." Ruby said.

"FIne, no hugs. Move!" Yang frantically said. The daughter of Raven did not appreciate being kept from seeing her friend.

"Why no hugs?" Ruby asked to the dismay of Yang.

"Remember what Ace looked like a couple days ago?" Ruby and Yang nodded, recalling the weak figure Ace had deteriorated into. "That's probably what he looks like right now. He's really fragile. I'd like to keep on the safe side and not damage his already weakened body." Taiyang said.

"What if I promise to be gentle?" Ruby asked. Yang clenched her fists in frustration as she was forced to wait even more for Taiyang to move

"You guys do realize we can hear you from inside, right?" Qrow said as he opened the door. The veteran huntsman's eyes were red and slightly puffy. Though he really wanted to, Taiyang refrained from calling Qrow out on this. Before someone could say anything else, Ruby had already squeezed her way past Qrow. Having waited enough, Yang shoved her way past Qrow.

Yang froze the moment she laid eyes on Ace. He was sitting up, looking at her and Ruby with an award winning smile, as if nothing had happened. His body still looked weak and fragile, but there was no mistaking that spark in his eyes.

 _He's okay… he's actually okay,_ Yang thought to herself as she felt her eyes begin to moisten. The thirteen year old found herself filling with relief. All the anxiety and tension that had flooded Yang melted away, replaced with a jubilant joy.

However, as happy as Yang felt, the young huntress in training was also angry. All the stress she'd felt over the last two weeks began to rise to the surface.

"Ace!" Ruby exclaimed in excitement and relief. Ignoring Taiyang's advice, Ruby jumped on the bed and hugged Ace. "I was so worried! The doctors said you were gonna die! I don't want you to die! I didn't know what to do and dad and uncle Qrow kept telling me it would be okay even though I knew it wasn't okay and you kept coughing up blood and I wasn't sure if you were gonna make it and-"

"Ruby, Tai was right. This hurts." Ace said in a strained, raspy tone. Though he was glad to see his surrogate little sister, Ace's entire body felt like a giant bruise at the moment. Ruby, realizing that her dad was right, quickly let go of Ace and hopped off of his hospital bed. The silver eyed girl sheepishly rubbed her arm as she tried to contain her relief.

"Sorry, I'm just really glad you're okay." Ruby said, a smile as bright as the sun adorning her features. Tears of joy clumped at the corner of her eyes as the silver eyed girl reminded herself for the twentieth time that Ace was going to live. Ace grinned back at her, touched that he meant so much to Ruby.

Yang was broken out of her stupor the moment Ruby stopped ranting. The fiery blonde clenched her fists as she marched forward, catching the attention of Ace.

"Hey Ya-ow!" Ace yelped as Yang slugged his arm. "The Hell was that for!?" The red eyed boy demanded.

"You idiot," Yang said, her voice cracking a little, "Do you have any idea how worried I was?" Yang mumbled, still not looking at Ace.

"I'm-"

"You think I _like_ having to stand by and wait to see if you kick the bucket?" Yang said, tears beginning to slide down her cheek. "One second you're fighting Pyrrha and the next you're passed out and coughing up blood." Yang said, vivid memories of the match going through her mind.

"I-" Ace tried to speak only to be cut off.

"Dammit Ace! Why didn't you tell anyone!?" Yang demanded, finally looking at Ace. Yang was openly crying, a plethora of emotions running across her face. The thirteen year old suddenly wrapped Ace in a hug, her face buried in the crook of his neck. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you." Yang said, her voice cracking once again.

"Yang… I… I'm sorry. I know I'm selfish, but your right. I had no right to put you all through this." Ace said as he returned the hug. Yes, the hug hurt, but Ace was focusing on something far more important than some minor pain.

"Damn right." Yang muttered. "Don't ever do that again." Yang commanded as she let go of Ace.

"Almost die?" Ace asked in slight amusement.

"Say you're fine when you're really not." Yang corrected. Ace looked at his best friend for five solid seconds before speaking.

"Alright Yang. I promise I won't ever lie to you or Ruby about my well being again." Ace promised.

"You better." Yang said as she wiped away any stray tears and smiled at Ace. "Now that we got the emotional junk outta the way, you're going to be okay, right?" Yang lightly asked, slightly embarrassed at her little outburst.

"Yep. The doctor said I should be good to in a week." Ace said, to the mild surprise of the sisters.

"Really? Just a week?" Ruby asked.

"That's what they told me."

"How? The doctors told us that their medicine wasn't working very well." Yang added, recalling the conversation one of the nurses had with her father.

"That's the thing. Apparently it's not the medicine that's making me better." Ace said.

"Then what is?" Ruby asked.

"His own immune system?" Taiyang asked in disbelief. He and Qrow were talking in the hallway of the hospital, content to let the kids have their own reunion.

"Yeah. The doctor has no clue how that's possible. He says Ace should be good to go same time next week." Qrow said. The younger Branwen twin would have to question Ace about this later.

"That's… how is that… he was in a coma for two weeks. He nearly died, again, and you're telling me he's going to get off with a clean bill of health?" Taiyang asked in slight shock.

"Yep."

"Qrow, at this point I'm starting to think that there's more to that kid than meets the eye." Taiyang said as he glanced at Ace. The dimension hopper was currently listening to Yang fill him in on what happened these last two weeks.

"Hey, this world is full of mysteries. I gave up trying to solve them a while ago." Qrow said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Seriously Qrow. We both know what kind of poison was in Ace's system. I'm glad he's okay, but no regular person should have been able to survive that. Heck, if I were the one who had been poisoned I wouldn't even be standing here right now." Taiyang said. Qrow internally sighed. His former partner was getting too curious.

"What's your point Tai?" Qrow asked.

"My point is that shouldn't we try to figure out what's up with Ace?" Taiyang asked. He didn't think Ace was suspicious or anything like that, but this latest event had caught his attention.

"Tai, I've already gone through his birth records. Kid's an orphan and one hundred percent human. I say we just leave it as it is. Who knows, maybe it'll all sort itself out someday." Qrow said before walking back into the room. Taiyang paused to consider Qrow's response before sighing.

"I went into retirement to get away from things like this." Taiyang said to himself before joining the rest of his family.

"So you still haven't found whoever did this to me?" Ace asked with slight annoyance.

"Give us a break. Whoever did this did a good job of covering their tracks. Glynda has narrowed down the suspects though. She thinks she'll have the one responsible by the end of the week." Qrow answered.

"Who's Glynda?" Ace asked.

"That Lady who invited you here." Qrow answered.

"How do you know her?" Yang asked.

"We go way back to our academy days, right Tai?" Qrow asked while elbowing his former pirate.

"Yeah, right."

"Well, when you do find that guy, hold off on getting him until I recover. I want to get a piece of him." Ace said while cracking his knuckles.

"You just woke up from a coma and you're already looking for a fight? That's my Ace alright." Yang said in slight exasperation. Truthfully, Yang was immensely relieved that this whole fiasco hadn't altered Ace's personality whatsoever. _I like Ace the way he is_ , Yang thought to herself.

"Is that wise? I mean, look at what they did to you. If you go with us, then you might get hurt again." Taiyang said.

"Hey, they poisoned me. In a straight up fight I could probably destroy them, weakened or not." Ace defended. _Just let me get one Hiken in. They'll be spending the rest of the afternoon picking up all the bits_ , Ace thought to himself.

"As long as we're there, I don't see a problem with it." Qrow said. He knew what Ace was supposed to be capable of. If anything, he was scared for whoever was on the other end of Ace's gun. Taiyang frowned at his former partner, but didn't say anything. Before anyone could say anything, there was knocking at the door.

"Hello? May we come in?" A voice asked from the other side of the door.

"Sure, the more the merrier." Qrow said while smiling. The door opened and an older version of Pyrrha walked in, followed by Pyrrha herself. Ace looked at his friend in surprise. Pyrrha smiled and nervously waved at Ace.

"How did they know Ace woke up?" Taiyang whispered to Qrow.

"I sent her a text." Qrow said while waving his scroll in the air. Pyrrhic had asked Qrow to let them know when Ace had woken up.

"Pyrrha?" Ace asked in surprise. The redhead smiled at Ace, rubbing her arm anxiously. Yang scowled the moment she saw Pyrrha, though no one took notice. The lilac eyed girl subconsciously moved closer to Ace.

"I am immensely relieved to see you in good health, Ace." Pyrrha said while walking up to Ace's bed. The green eyed girl's smile fell as she nervously grasped her hands.

"Ace… had I known… I mean… I wasn't aware…" Pyrrha stuttered. _I rehearsed this apology at home, why am I having trouble?_ Pyrrha mentally asked herself. The invincible girl took a deep breath before starting over.

"Ace, I didn't know you were fighting under such… drastic conditions. I would have never battled you knowing you were experiencing such pain. I'm sorry." Pyrrha said while bowing her head. Ace regarded her with a raised eyebrow.

"Pyrrha, you realize you have nothing to apologize for?" Ace asked.

"Ace, because of me you suff-" Pyrrha began, but was cut off.

"Nope." Ace said

"... nope?" Pyrrha asked in confusion.

"I knew what was happening to me, but I fought you anyways. It was mu fault. If anything, I should be apologizing to you." Ace said. "I can't imagine how I made you feel when I… you know… coughed up blood and passed out." Ace said, eyes lowered.

"I will admit it was a little alarming." Pyrrha said, lightly chuckling.

"I should actually apologize to all of you." Ace said while looking at everyone in the room. "I'll be the first one to admit that I'm a stubborn bastard, but that doesn't give me the right to go and almost die… again."

 _Ruby's right here,_ Taiyang thought in annoyance at Ace's use of bad language.

"Again?" Pyrrha asked in confusion. Had Ace been in this kind of situation before?

"I'll fill you in later." Ace said. He noticed the older Nikos standing a few feet away from Pyrrha. "I don't know you. Name's Ace." Ace said as he introduced himself.

"I am aware. My name is Pyrrhic Nikos, and I am Pyrrha's mother, though you may have been able to guess that." Pyrrhic said as she offered her hand to shake. Ace gripped it, but had to suppress a wince. His whole body was like one giant bruise right now.

"You have a really nice daughter. Great fighter too." Ace said, causing Pyrrha to look down in slight embarrassment. The redhead still wasn't very good at receiving praise.

"I am very proud of her. To have been able to beat Pyrrha, even while in a weakened state, is truly impressive Ace." Pyrrhic said.

"That reminds me, did I get a trophy?" Ace asked. "I lost consciousness before I could find out." Ace said. Pyrrha giggled at Ace's priorities. Yang, meanwhile, was silently sizing Pyrrha up, seeing what the redhead had to offer.

 _I think we're the same height. I can't tell with those stupid heels she's wearing. How do people even fight in those?_ Yang thought to as she compared herself and Pyrrha. The blonde huntress in training had to admit that Pyrrha was quite the looker. Yang could only imagine what the redhead would look like once she grew into an adult. Although, based off Pyrrhic, Pyrrha definitely had a lot to look forward to.

"Yeah, you got a big shiny one!" Ruby said. "You also got a medal, and a painting of a valley. I don't know why they would give you that. It's pretty boring." Ruby said while scratching her head in confusion.

"That painting was created by one of Mistral's greatest artists. Just one of his works is worth thousands of Lien." Pyrrha said.

"Oh, that's pretty cool." Ruby said.

"So, the painting is like treasure?" Ace asked, slowly growing more excited.

"In a way, yes." Pyrrha answered.

"No one is allowed to touch my treasure." Ace said, his face sporting a giant grin. It was about time he started accumulating another treasure stash.

"I took the liberty of sending that stuff home." Taiyang added. "With all the commotion going on here, I didn't want to risk losing track of it."

"When are we going home?" Ace asked. He missed Patch.

"Soon as you get out of here and we deal with the criminal." Taiyang answered.

"So what, two weeks max?" Ace asked.

"Pretty much." Taiyang said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Are you so eager to leave you won't even allow me to spend more time with you? Our last encounter didn't end very well…" Pyrrha jokingly said. Yang took a deep breath in an effort to fight down a glare she wanted to send at Pyrrha. _I'm okay. I'm not jealous. This does not bother me. Why would it bother me that some cute redhead prodigy fighter is interested in Ace?_ Yang thought to herself.

"I'll make sure to spend the day with you before I leave. Can't leave my rival hanging dry." Ace said with a smile. Pyrrha's eyes widened, a small gasp esxaping her lips.

"Ace, you consider me your r-rival?" Pyrrha asked in surprise and shock.

"Yeah, why?" Ace asked, slightly confused by Pyrrha's reaction.

"I'm sorry, this is a lot to take in for me. You see, I've never had a rival before. I was always so far advanced that no one could keep up…" Pyrrha said as her enthusiasm drooped a little.

"Ace, I would be honored to be your rival!" Pyrrha said as her enthusiasm came back full force.

 _It doesn't bother me…_

"Guess we'll have to have a rematch before I leave." Ace said in amusement.

 _It doesn't bother me.._

"Of course! I am available at your earliest convenience!" Pyrrha said in excitement.

 _It DOESN'T bother me…_

"Wow Ace, you just woke up and you've already scored a date." Qrow said in amusement.

 _It Doesn't bo-_

"Pyrrha what did I tell you about dating?" Pyrrhic jokingly said in a mock scolding tone.

 _IT DOESN-_

"Mother please!" Pyrrha said as her face turned as red as her hair.

 _DAMMIT WHY DOES IT BOTHER ME!?_ Yang mentally screamed as she watched the scene before her unfold. The thought of Ace being alone with Pyrrha made her want to pull her hair out, and the most frustrating part was that Yang didn't know why she felt this way. Pyrrha was a very nice girl, yet Yang found herself hating the prodigy fighter more and more.

"You guys mind if I go too?" Yang asked as she grit her teeth in forced politeness. There was no way in Hell she was going to leave them alone again. "I want to see just how good you are for myself." The blonde girl said as she looked at Pyrrha.

"Oh… I would be happy to oblige." Pyrrha said as she smiled at Yang.

 _It would be easier to hate her if she wasn't so damn nice,_ Yang thought to herself as she kept up her false politeness.

"Well gang, I think it's about time we got something to eat. Pyrrhic, would you and Pyrrha like to join us?" Taiyang asked as he got up and walked to the door. It was about lunchtime, so they were understandably peckish.

"Why we would be delighted to." Pyrrhic said as she got up.

"Sis, you coming?" Ruby asked as she stood next to Qrow.

"I'll catch up. I wanted to talk with Ace in private…" Yang said as she tried to hide a blush.

"Oh, what a coincidence. I was also hoping to talk to Ace in private." Pyrrha said in an amused and apologetic tone. Yang forced herself not to glare at the redhead.

 _Oh you dirty little Bi-_

"Let Pyrrha talk to Ace." Qrow said as he hid a smirk,

"But…" Yang began.

"You can talk to Ace whenever you want. Pyrrha can't. Let her talk to Ace." Qrow said as he gestured for Yang to follow him. The blonde girl looked down at the floor as she begrudingly walked out of the room. _Once again, they make this too easy,_ Qrow thought to himself.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha said as Yang walked out of the room.

"Want us to bring you anything Ace?" Taiyang asked.

"I can't have any solid foods until I get outta here, doctor's orders." Ace grumbled. _Applesauce and soup for a whole goddamn week. Yay for me,_ The red eyed boy thought to himself. Taiyang nodded before saying goodbye and leaving the room.

"What'd you want to talk about?" Ace asked now that he and Pyrrha were left in the room.

"Ace… do you remember our match?" Pyrrha asked as she sat down next to Ace.

"What about it?" Ace asked.

"I… wanted to ask you something." Pyrrha said.

"Shoot."

"What's an 'Akainu?'" Pyrrha asked. Ace's eyes widened as he gripped his hospital sheets in an effort to control his panic.

 _Oh shit…_

"Where did you hear that?" Ace asked as he tried to keep the tone of his voice even.

"During our match. You screamed it before attacking me." Pyrrha said, unconsciously shivering at the memory. Ace noticed how she shivered and frowned.

"Pyrrha, I'm going to be honest with you. I don't really remember much about that part. What did I do?" Ace asked, hesitation clear in his voice.

"Oh… well nothing… really." Pyrrha said as she nervously rubbed her arm.

"Pyrrha, tell me the truth." Ace said.

"Ace, I don't want to jump to conclusion, but the moment you uttered that word, you felt… different." Pyrrha said. "You abandoned your weapons and began attacking me with your fists. I don't know what happened, but your blows were shockingly more powerful and brutal. You attacked with such ferocity that I had to wonder if you were the same Ace I was fighting just minutes earlier." Pyrrha said as she rubbed her stomach where Ace had punched her. Said former pirate had remained silent throughout the entire thing.

"When I looked into your eyes, all I saw was pure rage and hatred. It… it scared me, Ace. As I tried to repel your blows, I realized that you weren't fighting to win. You were trying to do something else."

"If… if I'm being honest Ace, I thought you were trying to... kill me." Pyrrha said while looking at the floor. The invincible girl once again shivered as she remembered Ace standing over her, fist raised. The former pirate searched for something to say.

"... Pyrrha… I… I'm sorry." Ace said, not knowing what else to say. The red eyed boy hung his head in shame, not being able to look Pyrrha in the eye.

"I don't hold anything against you Ace. You weren't in the right state of mind then." Pyrrha quickly said. She couldn't hold a grudge to save her life.

"Pyrrha… Akainu is a really bad memory of mine. Please leave it at that." Ace said as he stared down at his hands.

"I imagine that whatever foreign substances were in your body were making you see things." Pyrrha said. Ace nodded in agreement.

"If it really is as bad a memory as you say, I won't press any further Ace. Thank you for telling me this." Pyrrha said as she softly smiled at Ace, grabbing his hand in the process.

"You should probably catch up to everyone else." Ace said, still looking down at his hands. He couldn't bring himself to look at Pyrrha after he'd scared her like that.

"Very well. I will visit soon, Ace." Pyrrha said as she got up and made her way to the door.

"Pyrrha?" Ace suddenly asked.

"Yes?"

"Could you not tell anyone about what we talked about?" Ace asked.

"Of course Ace. This is just between us." Pyrrha said before walking out of the room.

 _Now that was a close call. I could have very well made an enormous mistake back there,_ Ace thought to himself once Pyrrha had left.

"I'm lucky I didn't use any of my fire on her." Ace said to himself. As good as Pyrrha was, Ace doubted she'd be able to do anything against Dai Enkai: Entei Then again, not many people can counter a fireball as big as an island.

… **With Taiyang and Company…**

 _Okay, what the Hell happened in there?_ Yang mentally asked herself. _You barely know Pyrrha and you're already acting like you've hated her your entire life. She is a perfectly decent girl who doesn't deserve to be called a dirty little Bi-_

"You going to order anything?" Ruby asked, breaking Yang out of her stupor. The huntress in training looked up to see a waiter waiting patiently for her to order.

"Oh… uh… Turkey club please." Yang said. The waiter wrote the order down before leaving. _Okay, where was I? Being mean to Pyrrha, right. I didn't get mad until she and Ace started talking. But why would… that… bother me…_ Yang trailed off as she began, then refused to connect the dots. Memories began coming back to her. She realized that every girl who's ever been romantically interested in Ace was on her shit list. She remembered the way she felt whenever she saw Ace with another girl.

 _Okay, so I get slightly jealous whenever some girl talks to Ace. I'm just being protective…_

Yang then recalled how she would become flustered whenever Ace did the simplest things. She remembered how just touching Ace would make her knees weak. Yang recalled how just being near him would brighten her day.

 _That doesn't prove anything…_

Yang recalled what she had been dreaming about earlier, and how livid she had been with her father for interrupting the "good" part. Yang couldn't come up with a legitimate explanation for that one. Yang blushed as she finally realized she couldn't argue this anymore. In hindsight, it all made sense. Ace had always been more than just a friend to Yang. It seemed inevitable that something like this would happen.

 _Oh dear Oum I have a crush on Portgas D. Ace._

The final nail in the coffin delivered, Yang let her head fall to the table. Ruby looked down at her sister in confusion.

"You okay sis? You seem a little off." Ruby asked.

"I'm fine. I just realized some… shocking stuff." Yang said as she tried to hide her blush with her hair. Yang didn't even know how to properly process this.

"What'd you realize?" Ruby innocently asked.

"That… um… I'm going to be fourteen soon?" Yang said, the statement sounding more like a question. She under no circumstance wanted Ruby to know how she felt about Ace.

"I guess that is pretty shocking if you think about it." Ruby said as she started contemplating her soon to be twelfth birthday. Having satisfied her sister's curiosity, Yang went back to her immediate problem.

 _What do I do about this? Do I tell Ace? W-what if he doesn't feel the same? That could make things really awkward._ Yang had always laughed at those guys and girls in movies who like each other, but didn't want to jeopardize their friendship. She had considered the idea that a relationship could ruin friendship preposterous.

Now, though, Yang was starting to see where they were coming from. She knew firsthand how dense Ace was when it came to romance. She had seen Ace mistake enough girls advances enough times to know Ace wasn't romantically inclined. The blonde huntress in training valued Ace's friendship too much to risk losing it.

Although, Yang had to wonder, would a relationship really change anything? She and Ace were already best friends. They did everything together. As far as Yang knew, the only real thing that would change was that they would get to kiss and do couple stuff. The very thought of kissing Ace caused Yang's face to turn even redder.

"Hi Pyrrha!" Ruby enthusiastically called out to the approaching redhead. Yang looked up and saw the combat prodigy approaching their table.

"Hello Ruby. Forgive me for taking so long." Pyrrha said as she sat next to the silver eyed girl.

"What'd you and Ace talk about?" Ruby innocently asked.

"I'm sorry, but that's between Ace and I." Pyrrha said while flashing an apologetic smile.

"Aw…" Ruby said while pouting. Her sadness was immediately forgotten as the waiter appeared and put a strawberry shortcake in front of her.

"So… Pyrrha," Yang began, "Ace has told me a lot about you."

"All good things I hope?" Pyrrha said.

"Everything he says about you is a good thing." Yang said as she tried her best to keep sarcasm out of her voice. She knew it wasn't fair to the combat prodigy, but Yang couldn't help it.

"Well isn't that flattering? You know, Ace has told me much about you two as well." Pyrrha said as she chuckled. Yang felt nervousness began to crawl into her body. _If Ace told her about my mother, I am going to kill him, crush or not,_ Yang thought to herself.

"What did he say?" Yang asked, knowing that whatever Pyrrha said next could very well decide Ace's fate.

"He mostly talked about what a good person you are. He mentioned that you're his best friend and how he wants to graduate from Beacon with you by his side." Pyrrha said, causing hot blood to rush to Yang's cheeks. _Dammit Ace, why is it so easy to like you?_ Yang thought to herself.

"What'd he say about me?" Ruby asked through a mouthful of shortcake.

"He said you're a weapons enthusiast and the little sister he never had." Pyrrha said, chuckling at the sight of Ruby with whip cream smeared over her mouth. Ruby, happy with Pyrrha's response, went back to demolishing her dessert. While the children bantered, the adults were having a more serious conversation.

"His own immune system?" Pyrrhic asked in suppressed shock.

"That's what the doctor said." Qrow said. Taiyang nodded in agreement.

"How is that even possible?" Pyrrhic asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours." Taiyang said. "I'm just glad this whole ordeal is about to end."

"Yep, once we get our criminal, we're outta here." Qrow said before drinking his favorite liquid from a glass to his right.

"How close are you to catching that ruffian?" Pyrrhic asked.

"Glynda says she should have our guy in a day or two." Taiyang said. He paused when he noticed Yang grinning while Ruby had put her face in her hands and Pyrrha was giving a forced smile.

"Looks like Yang is trying out a few new puns." Taiyang said in amusement and pride.

"This whole poison stuff was a real pain in the _Ace_ , eh, eh?" Yang said while waggling her eyebrows.

"Yang… it hurts." Ruby whined.

"You don't believe that Pyrrha, right?" Yang asked while throwing a cheshire cat grin at the emerald eyed girl. Yang knew Pyrrha was too polite to ask her to stop. The blonde girl had found the perfect audience.

"Not at all… they are actually very clever." Pyrrha said while chuckling nervously.

"Good, 'cause it's really _Vytal_ that you hear these ones." Yang said, once again waggling her eyebrows as if by doing that it enhances the hilarity of the joke.

It doesn't.

… **Later That Night…**

"Alright kid, explain how your immune system fought off poison." Qrow said. Taiyang and the girls had already gone back to the hotel for some needed sleep.

"I have no idea." Ace admitted. "I don't think it has anything to do with my logia body."

"Can you think of anything?"

"I don't know. Maybe my body works differently than yours?" Ace offered.

"How?" Qrow asked.

"I mean, no offense but you all are pretty weak. Even with yout aura and junk, your bodies are kinda feeble."

"Where's this going?" Qrow grumbled.

"What I'm trying to say is that people in general are a lot tougher where I'm from. Maybe that's why I survived. Maybe my body is just naturally better at this kind of stuff." Ace explained.

"That's actually a pretty good guess. It's probably the only one w have, though." Qrow said. Ace focused on his hands, wondering how to ask Qrow something.

"... Qrow?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"... Hypothetically, could someone explore Remnant by boat?" Ace asked, trying and failing not to make his question that obvious.

"I guess, though there isn't much to explore. I'm pretty sure there are tourist boats that go around showing people landmarks." Qrow reasoned.

"That's not what I meant, Qrow." Ace said with a sigh.

"I know, kid. I get that things may seem kind of dreary for you. Based off what you've told me, you had a degree of freedom in your previous life that just isn't possible here on Remnant. Whether you try to regain that freedom is up to you, but you could end up getting hurt in the process." Qrow said.

"It's not that things are boring. I just… have to sort through some stuff. I thought traveling Remnant would be a good way of doing it." Ace said, not bothering to tell Qrow what he had experienced when he was in a coma.

"Are you saying this because puberty finally kicked in?" Qrow asked with a chuckle. "Every teen thinks they're brooding and unique."

"No, it's not because of puberty." Ace retorted in annoyance.

"Good. I don't feel like giving you the talk."

"You won't ever have to." Ace said.

"Why?"

"I've had the talk before, Qrow." Ace answered. Once he and Luffy had reached their teenage years, Makino had sat them down and told them all about the birds and the bees. Luffy forgot about it almost immediately afterwards, but Ace, being older, had taken it a bit more seriously. It really is a testament to how awkward the talk is that Ace and Luffy, known knuckleheads when it came to this, still felt uncomfortable while Makino was telling them about reproduction. It wasn't all bad though. There was one particular memory that Ace would always treasure.

" _Okay, so now that we got the body changes outta the way, we can move on to protection." Makino said, remarkably calm and collected considering she was giving the talk._

" _What, like my staff?" Ace asked as he held up his piece of piping._

" _Do we have to wear armor or something?" Luffy asked, genuinely curious. Makino giggled at the cluelessness of the adopted brothers._

" _No, no. I'm talking about condoms." Makino said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small square. The young woman always carried a few around, on the count that Shanks could strike at any given moment._

" _The Hell's a condom?" Ace asked as he inspected the package. Makino opened the wrapper and pulled out the unfurled condom._

" _A condom is a way of preventing pregnancy." Makino explained. Both boys eyed the piece of rubber with scrutiny before Luffy spoke up._

" _I have to pee." The future king of pirates declared as he went outside, leaving Ace and Makino alone._

" _How does that keep a girl from getting pregnant?" Ace asked._

" _Well, you put it on your… you know,_ _and it catches all the sperm." Makino said._

" _... How?" Acce asked, the perfect picture of confusement. Makino paused while trying to think of a way to answer Ace's question. Her gazed shifted to the kitchen before an idea popped into her head._

" _I know! Here, I'll show you!" Makino said as she got up and entered the kitchen._

" _But you don't have a…" Ace trailed off when he saw Makino exit with a cucumber. "What's the food for?"_

" _It's an example. Pretend this is your… penis… " Makino said, beginning to struggle due to the awkwardness that is the sex talk, "You grab the tip of the condom like this, and then unfurl it until it covers the entirety of it." Makino said while demonstrating. Soon the cucumber was covered by the condom._

" _Okay… that's not too hard." Ace muttered._

" _I'll have to repeat this for luffy." Makino commented._

" _Repeat what for me?" Luffy asked as he walked into view. "Food!" Luffy exclaimed the moment he saw the cucumber._

" _Luffy no!" Makino cried as she tried to keep the food item out of reach. Luffy, in his hunger, failed to notice the condom. In what could be considered a misuse of his powers, Luffy stretched his arm out and snatched the cucumber away from Makino. Luffy's hunger was so great that he didn't even notice the strange texture of the fruit. Luffy opened his mouth and took a bite out of the cucumber, nearly finishing it with that one chomp. Luffy chewed slighly before swallowing. The son of Dragon was about to finish it off before he felt something weird in his throat._

" _You okay Luffy?" Ace asked when he saw that Luffy hadn't already finished the food item. Luffy opened his mouth to speak… only to have the condom inflate as he tried to breathe out._

" _What the… ?" Ace asked in confusion. Makino, on the other hand, understood what was happening immediately._

" _It's stuck in his throat!" Makino said in panic while Luffy tried breathing again, only to have the condom inflate like a balloon once more._

" _HAHAHAHAHA!" Ace roared with laughter the moment he understood what was going on. Luffy was beginning to panic as he started inflating and deflating the condom at a faster rate._

" _Ooh no. What do we do!?" Makino asked, beginning to succumb to panic as well. Ace paid no attention to her as he was too busy stomping his fist on the counter out of sheer amusement._

" _Way to go idiot!" Ace managed to choke out before succumbing to laughter again. Luffy was beginning to turn blue as he failed to get any oxygen in his system._

" _Ace stop laughing and help me!" Makino commanded, though she wasn't doing much to help herself. The bar owner thought that it might hurt luffy if they tried pulling the condom out of his throat._

" _Haha… hold on… " Ace said between chuckles as he reached for a knife. The son of Roger turned to help his brother, but lost it upon seeing Luffy's expression. It looked like the poor boy's eyes were about to pop out of his skull as he tried to breathe. The sixteen year old fell to the floor as laughter overtook him again._

" _Ace!" Makino screamed._

" _Ha… I'm coming." Ace said as he tried to stifle his giggles. He picked up the knife and waited for Luffy to breathe out again. When the condom was full of air, Ace jabbed it with the knife, popping it like a balloon and creating a hole for Luffy to breathe through._

" _You okay?" Ace asked, sniggering in the process. Luffy did not answer immediately as he was too busy inhaling some much needed air._

" _Ha… I'm… fine. Thanks… Ace." Luffy said between gasps._

" _Oh thank goodness." Makino said, immensely relieved._

" _Luffy still has a condom down his throat. What d'ya think we should do?" Ace asked. You could see the popped protection hanging out of Luffy's mouth._

" _I… I don't know." Makino admitted. Never in her life did Makino think she would be a situation where she had to help get a condom out of someone's throat._

" _Just pull it out." Luffy said, completely unfazed by what had happened. Then again, Ace doubted that Luffy completely understood just what it was that was stuck in his throat._

" _Okay." Ace said before grabbing the part hanging out of Luffy's mouth. Ace tugged, causing Luffy to gag on reflex. Ace frowned as he grabbed the condom with both arms and gave a mighty pull. Luffy made a retching noise before the intruding piece of rubber was pulled out of his throat._

" _Makino?" Ace asked as he threw away the popped condom._

" _Yes Ace?" Makino said as she checked Luffy for any further injury. Thankfully the younger brother was fine._

" _For something that's supposed to protect you, these things are awfully dangerous." Ace said. Makino could only sigh as an answer._

To this day, Ace can't look at a cucumber without laughing.

"Wait… they still call it 'the talk' in your world?" Qrow asked in amusement.

"Yep. I guess it's a trans-universal term." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I bet Ozpin would have a field day with that one." Qrow muttered.

"Ozpin? As in headmaster Ozpin?" Ace asked.

"As if there's another one. Who do you think my boss is?" Qrow said. Ace raised an eyebrow in response. The red eyed boy had never actually thought about it.

"Does Ozpin know about… Fire fist Ace?" Ace asked.

"Yes he does." Qrow admitted. The drinking enthusiast didn't see anything wrong with telling Ace this. In a way, he kind of had the right to know.

"This is the first time I'm hearing this. How many people know about me?" Ace asked in slight annoyance.

"Inclulding me, there are about three of us. One is Ozpin and the other is Glynda," Qrow answered. Qrow was expecting Ace to say something, but the older hunter was surprised to see Ace in deep thought.

"Wait, I was invited to this tournament by Glynda. She told me her boss was the one who had noticed my skill." Ace muttered.

 _Oh shit. The kid's starting to connect the dots. I didn't think he was clever enough,_ Qrow thought to himself in slight alarm.

"Is Ozpin Glynda's boss too?" Ace asked.

"... Yes."

"So it was Ozpin who got me a spot in the Mistral tournament. Why would Ozpin go out of his way to get me a spot though, especially if he knows what I'm capable of." Ace muttered to himself as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Don't question it. Trust me, the guy is an enigma wrapped in a mystery." Ozpin said.

"The Hell's an enigma?" Ace asked.

"It's a… look that doesn't matter. The point is Ozpin does weird stuff for no reason. Maybe you can ask him when you go to Beacon." Qrow suggested.

"I guess, but it is a little weird though." Ace said, pushing the thought out of his mind.

He'd think about it later.

… **The Following Evening…**

"I have good news and bad news." Glynda told Taiyang and Qrow.

"Why can't it ever just be good news?" Taiyang complained.

"Starting with the good news, I have acquired the identity of the criminal you are looking for." Glynda said. The former partners waited for Glynda to continue, but she remained silent.

"... and the bad news?" Qrow asked.

"He os one of the bigger criminal leaders here in Mistral. The Mistralien police have been after this man for a very long time. He is very good at escaping." Glynda said.

"Right, so who's our guy?" Qrow asked.

"His name is Saul, last name unknown." Glynda said as she brought a picture of the man up on her enlarged scroll. "He deals mostly in illegal betting, but he also has ties to drug and arms trafficking, as well as various suspicious arson cases. The man isn't afraid to get his hands dirty."

"We have a who. Now we need a where." Taiyang commented.

"Right. The man isn't stupid. He changes locations frequently to avoid people like us. However, through some… intense… persuasion, I was able to get one of his lackeys to give up his location." Glynda said, smiling lightly. Taiyang nervously eyed her riding crop, wondering if it wasn't just for show. Glynda was scary enough as it is. He could only imagine what she was like when they were in a torture room.

"And?" Qrow questioned.

"Six days from now, Saul will be taking care of some business in one of the clubs he owns. I have reason to believe that the club is also where most of his arms deals go down. If you have the time, please shut that down." Glynda said, showing them a picture of the club on her scroll.

"Six days…"

"That's about the same time Ace'll get out of the hospital. That's good. The kid would complain for weeks if he missed out on this." Qrow said while taking a swig of his flask. Taiyang looked at his former partner in disapproval.

"Qrow, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I don't think it's a good idea to let Ace come with us." Taiyang said as he crossed his arms.

"What, you afraid that he'll get hurt? The kid can take care of himself, Tai." Qrow said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I mean that Ace has never had to fight criminals before. I'm just not sure if he'll be able to handle it. Unlike Grimm, these guys are still human." Taiyang said.

 _If only you knew,_ Glynda thought to herself as she watched the conversation unfold. Taiyang was wrong about Ace not being able to handle fighting criminals. Both she and Qrow knew he used to fo that on an almost daily basis.

"We'll be with him. Nothing bad will happen." Qrow defended.

"May I finish my report before you continue this conversation?" Glynda asked. She knew from experience that Qrow and Tai could bicker for hours on end.

"This isn't over." Taiyang told Qrow.

"Thank you. As I was saying, he will be at this club six days from now. However, you just can't go in guns blazing and swords swinging." Glynda told them.

"Why not?" Qrow asked in disappointment.

"Well for one, there will be civilians present. More importantly, Saul has escape routes almost everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if his escape routes had escape routes. The moment he senses trouble he'll bail out. You are going to have to be significantly quieter when apprehending him. Otherwise he will escape." Glynda said. Qrow and Taiyang looked at each other, growing slightly more concerned.

"Wait, are we gonna have any back up? This is starting to seem like a big job for the two of us." Taiyang said.

"No. The police department is unaware of your plot, and I would like it to stay that way. Either you catch him or you don't." Glynda said.

"Well that piles on the pressure." Taiyang said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"If I recall, both of you requested to, and I quote, 'Go this alone.'" Glynda commented.

"At the time, I thought we would just be busting into their hideout and punching some bad guys." Taiyang admitted. "I didn't think things would get this complicated."

"Don't be a pansy, Tai. We can handle it." Qrow confidently said.

"We're going to have to create an entirely new plan, Qrow." Taiyang informed his former partner.

"You mean you have to come up with a plan. Just point me in the general direction and I'll take care of the rest." Qrow said, much to the annoyance of Taiyang.

"I swear, this is exactly what you pulled back at Beacon. Let me and the others do the complicated stuff while just show up and wing it." Taiyang said in slight frustration.

"It worked, didn't it?" Qrow said with a smile.

… **Two days later…**

Ace was not in a good mood. Taiyang and company had come to visit, but that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that whenever he looked at either Yang or Ruby, he would see flashes of Luffy in their place. _Shit, guess older me was right,_ Ace mentally cursed as he forced himself to stop imagining his little brother. It wasn't fair to either Ruby, Yang, or Luffy to cmpare them like that.

"You doing alright Ace?" Ruby asked, noticing the red eyed boy's discomfort. For a brief second, Ruby's voice sounded like Luffy's.

"I'm fine, Luffy." Ace absentmindedly said before clamping his hand over his mouth. _Fuck!_ Ace eloquently thought to himself.

"Luffy? I'm Ruby, Ace. You know that." Ruby said as she raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I… was just thinking about the pirate story, and what I was going to tell you about Luffy next." Ace said, thinking up a lie on the spot.

"Oh, okay. We were at the part where Luffy and Ace reunited in Alabasta." Ruby said as she thought back to the story. Ace sighed, knowing that one of these days he would get to Marineford. That would not be a good day.

 _I could just skip that part, but that would make me a coward,_ Ace thought to himself. Besides, by omitting Marineford he would have to omit a lot of other events. It was too much hassle.

"Stuff is going to get intense pretty soon." Ace commented.

"Does Ace manage to find Blackbeard?" Ruby eagerly asked. That was another part of the story Ace was not excited about sharing. Not because anything bad happens, at least compared to Marineford, but Ace just found it embarrassing that he had lost to Blackbeard of all people.

"You'll have to wait and find out." Ace stated, causing the silver eyed girl to groan in annoyance. Ace glanced to his right, he noticed Yang, who was sitting in a chair, looking at him. The moment they made eye contact, however, both looked away. Yang because she was embarrased Ace had caught her staring. Ace because he had very briefly seen Sabo's face instead of Yang's.

 _Come on Yang. It's only awkward if you make it awkward,_ Yang thought to herself. The huntress in training had not taken her revelation well. She found it difficult to talk or even stare at her best friend. Of all people, Yang had to develop a crush on Ace. She didn't even have anyone to talk to about this. Her sister was too young and, well, couldn't keep a secret. Her dad already had a thing against Yang and boys, so he wouldn't be any help there. The only one who would be even remotely helpful would be Qrow. Yang would avoid him for obvious reasons.

 _It's times like these that make me miss mom,_ Yang glumly thought to herself. Summer would have been able to help her. Heck, Yang was willing to bet Raven would be more help than what was at her disposal. The young huntress in training would have to figure this out on her own.

"You know, if you think about it, it's thanks to Ace that we got an extended vacation." Ruby chirped.

"Because the extended part of our vacation was so enjoyable." Yang sarcastically replied.

"What I'm saying is that this is the most time we've ever spent outside Patch." Ruby reasoned.

"It's not exactly a hard record to break. The only other times we leave Patch is when we go into Vale." Ace said, relieved that he could focus on Ruby without seeing Luffy for the moment.

"Yeah, and we're usually back the same day." Yang added.

"The point still stands." Ruby responded. "Besides Ace's whole poison thing, I think this trip has actually been pretty nice."

"I guess it was cool until then." Ace admitted.

"I did enjoy the spa." Yang said.

"Plus we got to meet Pyrrha." Ace pointed out. Yang grimaced and slouched in her chair while Ruby happily agreed.

"Ace?" Ruby asked.

"What?"

"Can I come with you and Pyrrha when you fight?" Ruby asked.

"I don't see why not." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Thanks. I really want to see Pyrrha's weapon up close!" Ruby excitedly said.

"I want to fight her when I'm not… you know… dying of poison." Ace responded.

 _I want to throw up_ , Yang thought to herself.

… **Four Days Later…**

"Can I leave yet?" Ace asked in an impatient tone.

"Give me a second. I have to wait for the paperwork to come back." The doctor responded. Ace gave an exasperated sigh. Everyone knew he was healthy again. A little skinnier from lack of food, yes, but healthy nonetheless. The former pirate had already dressed out of his hospital gown and into his normal clothes. Qrow had already filled out all the necessary paperwork to have him discharged from the hospital. Now all they were waiting for was the doctor to give him the all clear.

"You're impatient." Taiyang observed.

"You haven't been stuck staring at the wall for the past week." Ace retorted.

"Fair enough."

"Ah, here we go." The doctor said as the nurse handed him some paperwork. The doctor skimmed it before coming to a conclusion.

"Well Ace, The paperwork checks out. You may leave now." The doctor said. Ace darted out of the room, not bothering to wait for the others. He sped past the hallways before exiting the hospital. Ace took a deep breath of fresh air as he enjoyed his first moments back in the outside world.

"Geez Ace, I think you broke some kind of world record."Yang commented as she exited the hospital.

"Hold that thought." Ace said before crossing the street. Yang was confused for a moment until she saw Ace stop in front of a food stand. What followed a minute of conversation Yang saw Ace point at something, only for the guy to start laughing. The guy stopped laughing when Ace pointed again. Eventually, Ace crossed the street again, a giant piece of meat on a skewer in one of his hands.

"You were saying." Ace said as he took an enormous bite of his snack.

"What is that?" Yang asked, pointing to Ace's meat.

"It's called Shawarma." Ace said as he swallowed and took another bite. "You know, I didn't realize how much of a gift meat is to the world until I had to stop eating it for a week."

"You looked like you wanted to puke whenever the nurse brought you applesauce." Yang said.

"I like apples, but it's too much in sauce form." Ace explained.

"I forgot how fast you-where did you get that meat?" Ruby asked as she exited the hospital.

"Across the street. The guy thought I was joking when I told him I wanted the entire piece." Ace said, swallowing and biting off another mouthful of shawarma.

"So… what'ya wanna do?" Ruby asked as Qrow and Taiyang exited the hospital.

"First I want my weapons. Where are they?" Ace asked.

"At the Hotel." Taiyang answered.

"I'm glad we live in a world where thirteen year olds can openly carry weapons in public." Qrow commented, pointing to Yang and her gauntlets.

"Not to mention drunks." Yang shot back, eyeing Qrow's sword.

"I'd like my weapons now, please." Ace said, beginning the walk towards the hotel. One good thing about Mistral was that virtually everything was within walkable distance. Not to mention the view was great everywhere.

"You're eager to get your guns." Qrow pointed out.

"I'm gonna need them. What time are we hitting the guy who poisoned me?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, about that. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with letting a kid fight hardened criminals. Maybe you should sit this one out." Taiyang nervously said. The group stopped walking. Ruby and Yang, sensing an impending argument, took a couple of steps backwards.

"I can take care of myself!" Ace protested. _I'm not a kid either… well technically._

"I know you can, but this just seems reckless."

"Tai, we'll be there with him. I'm pretty sure we can handle anything they have to through at us." Qrow spoke up. The drinking enthusiast could understand why Taiyang was aprehensive. As far as the blonde man was concerned, Ace was just a normal thirteen year old, normal being a loose term here. Qrow, on the other hand, knew that Ace had dealt with far worse before.

"This is ridiculous. He's a kid Qrow. I don't care if he's strong for his age. Letting him go with us is irresponsible." Taiyan adamantly defended.

"I'm going." Ace stated.

"I don't think so. Qrow and I are going it alone." Taiyang said, crossing his arms.

"If it's really that dangerous, then why don't you let the police deal with it!?" Ace argued.

"Because two huntsmen can get the job done quicker than any police department." Taiyang answered.

"Tai, let Ace come. Nothing bad will happen." Qrow said.

"No! It's like if I were to let Yang come." Taiyang said.

"... can I come?" Yang asked.

"No."

"But you're letting Ace go." Yang responded.

"No, I'm not letting Ace go."

"Yes, I am going." Ace said. "Look, either you take me with you, where you can keep me under supervision, or I follow you and do whatever I want."

"It's not like we can tie him up." Qrow pointed out.

"I… just don't want Ace getting hurt again." Taiyang said, sighing in exasperation.

"Then keep an eye on me, 'cause I'm going." Ace said in a tone that implied an end to their conversation. The red eyed boy began walking again, leaving a slightly peeved Taiyang and an indifferent Qrow in his wake.

"Qrow, when did Ace start doing whatever he wanted?" Taiyang asked.

"Since he was five. C'mon, might as well fill Ace in on the plan." Qrow said as he beckoned everyone to follow him.

"Hey dad, what're me and Ruby gonna be doing while you guys fight crime?" Yang asked. The young huntress in training was slightly put off that she wouldn't be allowed to go with them.

"You girls will be… staying in the hotel room. I already have two kids to look out for. I don't need two more." Taiyang said. It took Qrow a few seconds for the insult to register.

"Hey! Not cool." Qrow grumbled.

"That's no fair. Ace gets to do cool stuff while we're stuck in a hotel room." Ruby complained.

"This isn't a game Ruby. We're going up against criminals and murderers. That's no place for you." Taiyang reasoned, ruffling Ruby's hair in the process.

"Out of curiosity, how are you gonna beat these thugs?" Yang asked as they entered the hotel and made their way to the elevator.

"We're gonna punch them really hard." Taiyang answered.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

"Dad…" Yang said in annoyance.

"I'll tell you this much. Glynda says we have to be stealthy otherwise boss man'll know something is up. Luckily, we know where he's gonna be tonight." Taiyang said. The elevator dinged when they had reached their floor. The small family walked out and went to Taiyang and Qrow's room. They entered only to see Ace already checking Straw and Spade for any problems.

"Ace." Qrow said.

"What?" Ace asked, looking up from his work.

"If you're coming with us, then I should probably tell you that we'll have to be on the stealthier side for this. Your weapons are a little too bright for sneaking." Taiyang said.

"You'll also have to leave your hat here." Qrow pointed out. Ace looked at his precious hat before shrugging.

"Alright. What should I do about my guns?" Ace asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's a little too late to give them a temporary paint job. I think we need some temporary weapons for you." Taiyang said.

"We'll stop by a weapon shop before leaving." Qrow said.

"Oh, okay." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Can you girls take care of my stuff?" Ace asked Yang and Ruby.

"Dibs on the guns!" Ruby excitedly said as she made a grab for Straw and Spade. No one bothered to stop her, as the reason soon became evident. Ruby tried to lift Straw, but was only able to lift it a few inches off the ground.

"Need a little help there, Rubes?" Yang said, chuckling at her sister.

"I… got… this." Ruby said through gritted teeth.

"Don't hurt yourself Ruby." Taiyang cautioned. "Hide your ammo." Taiyang whispered to Ace when Ruby wasn't looking.

"On it." Ace said as he immediately went to get his suitcase full of bullets.

"So you're getting Ace a new weapon?" Yang asked.

"Why do I need one? I think I can get by just fine with my fists." Ace pointed out.

"We don't know what we're going up against. Better play this on the safe side." Taiyang said.

"They're just crooks. What can they throw at us?" Ace pointed out.

"Still. You should go in with some firepower." Taiyang reasoned.

"Like what?" Ruby asked.

"You know, in hindsight, this would have been a good time to have my Bo staff." Ace commented.

"Whatever. We'll just get you a pistol and something to hit stuff with." Qrow said witha shrug of his shoulders.

"You know, this would make more sense if you told me the plan." Ace said in annoyance.

"Hang on. We might as well go buy your weapon right now." Taiyang said as he motioned for Ace to follow him. "You girls wanna come?" Taiyang asked his daughters.

"Yes!" Ruby and Yang answered at once.

"You coming, Qrow?" Ace asked.

"No. I want to get a nap in before we go in." Qrow said.

"Fair enough. We'll be back soon." Taiyang said as he exited the room with the kids.

"Hey, I didn't get the chance to ask earlier, but whatever happened to Zwei?" Ace asked as they entered the elevator.

"Dad mailed him home." Ruby grumbled.

"It's a good thing you taught him how to operate a can opener." Ace said.

"I know everyone thinks their pet is smarter than others, but Zwei really is pretty clever." Taiyang said as they exited the elevator.

"So Ruby, find us a weapon shop." Taiyang said.

"Yes sir!" Ruby said while saluting. The silver eyed girl raised a nose to the air and began sniffing. Without a word, she began leading them down the street.

"It's like livinng with a dog." Ace whispered to Yang. The lilac eyed girl blushed lightly at how close Ace was to her.

"Still impressive, though." Yang shot back. Ruby, still sniffing, turned a corner and stopped in front of a weapon shop.

"We're here!" Ruby proudly declared.

"How'd you do that?" Ace asked, mildly impressed.

"I followed the smell of gunpowder and metal." Ruby answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"... you know, she has a point." Ace said as he raised his nose and sniffed the air. "I should try this next time."

"Shall we go in?" Taiyang said as he opened the door and gestured for them to enter. Ruby entered happily and began ogling the various weapons on display. Yang had a more muted excitement about her. Ace walked in, largely indifferent.

"So Tai, what'ya think I'll need on this little excursion of ours?" Ace asked the older man.

"Well, I think some sort of melee weapon is in order." Taiyang said as he walked to the melee section of the store.

"It'd be easier to choose a weapon if I knew what I was getting into." Ace said as he gazed at a variety of weapons. Taiyang checked to make sure Yang and Ruby weren't listening. He was relieved when he saw them arguing over how useful nunchucks actually were.

"Sorry Ace. I just don't want to risk Yang or Ruby trying to follow us tonight. That's why I've kept quiet about my plan." Taiyang apologized.

"How do you know I won't tell them?" Ace couldn't help but ask.

"Because I know you don't want to see them hurt, either." Taiyang immediately answered. "Anyways, I'll give you the details tonight, but Qrow is going to pose as a regular club goer while you and I sneak in from the roof. After that, Qrow'll cause some commotion, taking attention away from us and making it easier to find the boss." Taiyang said.

"Then I'll need this." Ace said, grabbing a knife in a black sheathe without hesitation. Taiyang looked surprised by his choice.

"A knife? Don't you want something with more reach?" The veteran Huntsman asked.

"Any fighting that happens will probably go down in hallways and stuff. A knife is the better choice." Ace said, showing the combat experience he'd gained from his time as a pirate. The red eyed boy pulled the knife out of its sheath and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was similar to the one he used to carry around.

"Good point." Taiyang said, genuinely surprised that Ace had figured all that out from sparse details.

"Why aren't you getting one?" Ace asked in confusion.

"Call me a hypocrite Ace, but I don't need a weapon." Taiyang said while chuckling.

"That's not very fair." Ace complained.

"I'm a full fledged Huntsman Ace. I can take care of myself. Besides, I'm gonna be carrying Qrow's sword with me" Taiyang shot back. "Now let's get you some ranged weaponry." The older male said while walking to the ranged section of the shop.

"A regular pistol will do." Ace said, picking up a generic sidearm and inspecting it.

"I won't argue. Just grab what you need." Taiyang said while going to check on Yang and Ruby.

"Ohhh… a tonfa-gun." Ruby said as she stared at the weapon.

"What's up dad?" Yang asked, slowly becoming bored. Weapon's just didn't hold her attention the way they did for Ruby.

"I think we're about done here. You girls need anything before we go?" Taiyang asked.

"I could use some shotgun ammunition." Yang said.

"I don't really need anything." Ruby somewhat sadly said. It was times like these that made Ruby regret being the only one in her family who didn't have a weapon.

"Grab a few boxes of shells and we'll be on our way." Taiyang told Yang. The daughter of Raven quickly picked out three boxes of ammo before following her dad.

"Just gonna stick with the pistol and knife?"Taiyang asked once he ran into Ace. The red eyed boy had also picked out a holster for his sidearm.

"I don't need anything else." Ace answered.

"Better grab some regular ammunition for that gun. I doubt it can handle the kind of ammo you put in Straw and Spade." Taiyang said. Ace nodded as he grabbed more pistol ammo and clips. Having gotten everything they needed, Taiyang paid for their stuff and they exited the store.

"What now?" Ace asked.

"Wow we took a lot longer than I thought. We need to go back to the hotel and prepare." Taiyang said as he checked the time on his scroll. The small group race walked back to the hotel and made their way to Qrow and Taiyang's room.

"You guys get everything you need?" Qrow asked when they walked in. The kids were mildly surprised when they saw what their father/uncle was wearing.

"Qrow, why are you wearing that?" Ace asked as he looked over his adopted father. The grizzled huntsman had traded is Bohemian prince appearance in favor of a pair of black slacks and dress shoes with a belt. The belt buckle was Qrow's symbol, obviously custom ordered. The younger Branwen twin had a light grey vest over a dark grey dress shirt with the first few buttons undone. He was wearing his usual necklace with the crooked cross and had even trimmed his scruffy facial hair.

"Whaddya mean?" Qrow asked as he splashed cologne on himself.

"You look… clean." Yang said, struggling to find a way to accurately describe her uncle's appearance.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Qrow growled as he fixed an annoyed glance at Yang..

"I don't mean like you're not dirty. I mean that… well… it looks like you actually tried to look good today." Yang said.

"Yeah! You even got rid of that cape that's way too short for you!" Ruby chirped. Qrow sighed, wondering what was wrong with his cape.

"You didn't answer my question. Why are you dressed like that?" Ace asked again.

"Tai tell you the plan?" Qrow asked.

"The gist of it, yeah."

"I can't go in looking like a Huntsman or a thirty-something year old slob. I have to look like I go clubbing every night." Qrow said, doing one final inspection in the mirror. He nodded in satisfaction before walking to his bed and throwing a bundle of clothes at Ace.

"And this is?" Ace asked, easily catching the bundle.

"Appropriate clothing. You're not infiltrating a criminal leader's club in shorts and sandals. Put it on." Qrow commanded as he pushed Ace towards the door leading to his room. "Here's your clothing, Tai." Qrow said as he threw a bigger bundle towards his former partner.

"I'll be back in a few." Taiyang said as he entered the bathroom.

"I feel like I'm on one of those cop shows." Ruby whispered to her sister.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Yang whispered back.

"So girls… how does it feel to be related to vigilantes?" Qrow casually asked.

"What's a vigl-vega-vagi-what you said?" Ruby asked, struggling with the new word.

"Someone who stops crime outside the law. Technically we're criminals, too." Qrow causally said.

"Don't tell them that. I'd like them to have a good image of their father, thank you very much." Taiyang said as he exited the bathroom. The father was wearing black, form fitting pants and boots on his lower body. His upper body was covered by a short sleeve black t-shirt that just managed to cover the tattoo on his shoulder. The shirt was tucked into his pants and held together by a belt that also happened to double as a strap to hold Qrow's sword. Qrow had even given Taiyang a black beanie to hide his blonde hair. The man had black leather gloves on his hands as well.

"I've never seen you wear this much black." Yang said. In this attire, her dad actually looked kind of intimidating.

"You look so cool!" Ruby complimented.

"I look like a thug. I never want either of you girls to dress like this, understood?" Taiyang said, using this moment to be a dad. Ruby and Yang heard the door leading to Ace's room open, followed by foot steps.

"How do I look?" Ace asked, causing Yang and Ruby to turn around to look at him.

"You look.." Yang trailed off, her face getting hotter by the second. Both he and Taiyang were wearing predominantly black and boots, but that was where the similarities ended. Ace wore black cargo pants, every pocket full of clips of ammunition. A pistol was holstered on his right side and the knife he had picked out was strapped to his lower back. On his hands were black, fingerless gloves. Unlike Taiyang's short sleeve shirt, Ace wore a form fitting long sleeve shirt. Strangely, the shirt continued up his neck and covered his face to just below his eyes.

Yang blushed heavily as she struggled to tear her gaze from Ace. She was used to a carefree Ace who constantly wore shorts and his semi-goofy hat. The Ace that stood in front of her right now was the complete opposite of what she knew. It was almost like night and day. Ace's toned upper body was outlined perfectly on his shirt. The mask extension seemed to lock Ace's red eyes into a permanent glare.

Ace looked _dangerous_.

Strangely, Yang liked it. She liked the feeling of Ace's crimson gaze piercing her body. It got her excited to know that in an hour this Ace would be using that pistol and knife on the criminals of Mistral. The young huntress in training found that line between friend and love interest blurring even further.

"Wow, you look like a ninja!" Ruby exclaimed, not at all fazed by Ace's appearance.

"Took me awhile to realize that this goes over my face." Ace commented as he pulled the extra fabric down past his chin.

"What's it for?" Ruby asked. Yeah it looked cool, but the silver eyed girl knew enough about the situation to know that focusing on wardrobe choices was not a good idea.

"Good question. Qrow, what's the mask for?" Ace asked his adopted father.

"Protect your identity." Qrow answered.

"Why?" Ace asked as he pulled the mask back in place.

"Tai and I are professional Huntsmen. We do this kind of stuff for a living. You haven't even graduated from combat school. It's better that they don't know who you are. Plus, it adds an intimidation factor to your appearance." Qrow said. Ace nodded as he pulled out his pistol to do one more inspection of it. Yang couldn't help herself as she discreetly took two pictures with her scroll. One was just Ace checking his firearm. Yang would later make that her screensaver. The second was of Qrow, Taiyang, and Ace standing in a semi-circle as they quietly discussed the plan. Ace was in the process of holstering his gun, Qrow was placing his trademark rings in his fingers, and Taiyang was placing Qrow's sword on his lower back.

All in al, it made for a fairly badass picture.

"What're you doing?" Ruby whispered to her sister.

"Taking pictures, what does it look like?" Yang shot back.

"Why?"

"When you have a family this cool, you gotta share it with the world." Yang responded back.

"Okay, so we're all dressed up. Now what?" Ace asked.

"Now, I make a call." Taiyang responded as he pulled out his scroll and dialed a number. "Hello? Yeah, they're ready. Thanks again for doing this. I really appreciate it. Bye." Taiyang said before hanging up.

"Who was that?" Yang asked in confusion.

"Was it someone super important who's gonna help you catch the bad guys?" Ruby excitedly asked. In her mind she was picturing a grizzled, retired police officer who was going on one last hurrah before calling it quits.

Ruby had a very active imagination for her age.

"Well… in a way, I guess." Taiyang said. "I called Pyrrhic."

So much for Ruby's officer.

"Pyrrha's mom?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. She's gonna be babysitting you two for the night." Taiyang said as he pointed at Yang and Ruby.

"Wait what?" Yang asked in alarm.

"We're spending the night with Pyrrha?" Ruby eagerly asked.

"Yep."

"Yay!"

"No!" Yang exclaimed in exasperation. "I can take care of myself. Why do I need a babysitter!?"

"She's going to make sure neither of you try to follow us while we're out. Besides, I figured you girls would get bored staying here by yourselves all night." Taiyang answered.

"But we haven't even packed! How are we gonna be ready by the time she shows up!?" Yang argued.

"I packed for you." Qrow spoke up as he pulled two overnight bags out from under the bed.

"... you know this is suspiciously well thought out." Yang commented through narrowed eyes.

"A lucky coincidence?" Taiyang said, nervously chuckling.

"You think it's gonna take all night to catch our guy?" Ace asked.

"No, but it'd be rude to barge in on Pyrrhic in the middle of the night." Taiyang said.

"C'mon Yang, it won't be so bad. Pyrrha might even let me hold her spear!" Ruby said, lightly drooling at the thought of holding Pyrrha's weapon

"Good for you." Yang sarcastically said.

"I expect both of you to be on your best behavior, understood?" Taiyang said while waggling a finger at the sisters.

"Loud and clear!" Ruby happily said.

"I guess." Yang grumbled. _It's like the universe is trying to make me spend time with the redhead_ , Yang thought to herself as she picked up her yellow overnight bag from Qrow.

"I'm glad that's settled. Pyrrhic should be here in a few minutes." Taiyang said. Yang sat on her dad's bed with a huff, still not pleased at being babysat.

"I'll bring you some souvenirs from their hideout." Ace told Yang and Ruby. The silver eyed girl brightened even further while Yang showed no visible reaction.

"Nothing illegal." Taiyang said,

 _ **A/N: I know, I know. I have some explaining to do. First off, I apologize for the long wait. Real life has not been the kindest of people, but hopefully the worst is over. Now, remember that other half of chapter 8 I had ready? I don't know what happened, but when I went to upload chapter 8, the other half was deleted.**_

 _ **I had about 9k words written in that other half. Losing all that hard work kinda demoralized me. I did not have the will to write. Eventually, I began re-writing it bit by bit. As an apology, I was going to do a whole 20-30k word chapter for you guys and gals, but that was taking too long. So instead, I'm uploading what I do have done, and turning this into a two-parter.**_

 _ **I don't know when I'll finish part two, so I can't promise anything.**_

 _ **Once again, thank you for all the support you've shown this fic. It's kind of ironic. I uploaded chapter 8 when the first episode of RWBY volume four had just come out, and chapter nine didn't come until after the volume had ended.**_

 _ **Heh, excuse me while I feel bad about my work ethic.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy this chapter. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to leave a review or PM me. I'll respond to the best of my ability.**_

 _ **That's about all I have to say. I'll see you all next chapter.**_

 _ **Until then.**_


	10. Chapter 10

Remnant's new ACE hunter

Chapter 10: Wrapping up part 2: Infiltration

"Talking."

 _Thinking._

 **ATTACK!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I have no rights, nor will I ever, to either One Piece or RWBY.**

"Pyrrhic's here." Taiyang spoke up while looking down at his scroll. Yang hung her head in defeat while Ruby cheered in excitement. Evening had already fallen outside, shrouding Mistral in a pleasant darkness.

"Why're you so excited? Aren't you supposed to be antisocial or something?" Yang asked her sister.

"But Pyrrha's my friend. It's different." Ruby responded as she shouldered her red overnight bag. Yang sighed as she picked up her yellow one.

Parenting was much easier for Taiyang considering his daughters were almost color-coded.

"I have an idea." Ace spoke up, a wide grin slowly spreading over his face. "Do these windows open?" The red eyed boy asked.

"Uh, yeah." Taiyang responded as he watched Ace walk to the window and open it. The former Huntsman grew alarmed when he saw Ace begin to exit the window. "Ace! What're you doing!? Do you realize how high up we are!?" Taiyang demanded as he rose to try to pull Ace back inside.

"This is gonna be good." Ace muttered to himself as he fully exited the room. The dimension hopper gazed downwards at the ant looking pedestrians and cars as he searched for the vehicle belonging to the Nikos family. _I'm gonna go out on a limb, and say it's the red one,_ the thirteen year old thought to himself in amusement. _These Remnant people take the whole color thing way too far._

"Ace, wanna tell us what's going on?" Yang asked as she poked her head out the window.

"A surprise. Hah! I knew she'd get out to meet you!" Ace exclaimed as he saw Pyrrha exit the car and wait at the entrance of the hotel. Sometimes the green eyed prodigy was too polite for her own good.

"What's your point?" Yang asked, resting her arms on the windowsill.

"Let's see if Pyrrha scares easily." Ace said before jumping off the ledge he was standing on.

"... Ace jumped off." Yang informed in a tone that suggested she'd seen her crush do this kind of thing before.

"Cool!" Ruby exclaimed as she ran to the window.

"Why do I even bother?" Taiyang muttered.

 **...**

Pyrrha hummed to herself as she patiently waited for Yang and Ruby. The green eyed prodigy was truly glad to have met them. They didn't seem to care about her skill, instead focusing on her values and personality. The redhead stopped humming when she heard noise in the alley to her right.

"Hello?" Pyrrha asked while peeking into the alley. There was no reply. Instead, a small fire appeared out of nowhere, just a few feet in front of her. "That's strange," Pyrrha said to herself as she looked at the flickering flame. _Someone should put that out, lest it engulf the entire street in flames,_ Pyrrha thought to herself. Being the responsible citizen she is, Pyrrha took it upon herself to stamp out the flames. Pyrrha walked into the alley and used her shield to smother the flames.

"There we… go." Pyrrha said, trailing off as another fire appeared just a couple of meters in front of her. The prodigy fighter regarded the small flame with suspicion before moving to put it out. Just like before, the moment she put it out another fire lit up deeper into the alley. _Something suspicious is going on here,_ Pyrrha thought to herself as she debated on whether to put out the third fire or go tell her mother. _There are far too many flammables in this alley for me to abandon this fire,_ Pyrrha thought to herself as she moved deeper into the dark alley. Right as she was about to smother the fire, the bright orange flame went out, shrouding the alley in darkness.

"Going somewhere?" A voice asked from above Pyrrha. The prodigy's head snapped upwards in an effort to find the mysterious voice.

"Who's there?" Pyrrha demanded as her hand slowly inched towards her sword. The lidless trash can to her right erupted into flames, causing the young girl to yelp in alarm and back away.

"Don't leave. The fun's just beginning." The voice said as the fire went out as quickly as it had come.

"I do not wish to harm you. Please cease these games." Pyrrha called out as she kept turning in an effort to find her possible opponent.

"Oh Pyrrha… I'm not the one who's gonna be harmed." The voice said from right behind Pyrrha. The redhead turned in alarm, yet found only empty space behind her.

"I'm warning you. If you do not stop, I will be forced to contact the authorities." Pyrrha said as she began backing out of the alley. _How in the name of Oum does he know my name,_ Pyrrha thought to herself, yet didn't ask the question out loud.

"I've never been scared of authority, Pyrrha." The voice said to the right of Pyrrha. The prodigy fighter turned only to find empty space again.

"Who are you?" Pyrrha demanded as she tried to keep her ever growing panic under control. How could she fight an enemy she couldn'l see?

"I am the night." The voice growled from behind her. Pyrrha turned and found two crimson eyes only inches away, glaring at her.

"Ah!" Pyrrha yelped before thrusting her shield into her attacker's face.

"Ow, what the Hell!?" The voice demanded as he staggered back while clutching his face. Pyrrha pressed her advantage and swept her opponent off her feet. Before the figure could react, Pyrrha had put the tip of her sword at his throat. "It's me! Ace!"

"Wait… Ace?" Pyrrha asked in confusion.

"Yes!" Ace said as he knocked the sword away from his throat. The red eyed boy dusted himself off before looking at Pyrrha.

"Ace you startled me! What were you hoping to accomplish!?" Pyrrha quietly demanded.

"Calm down, it was just a joke. I wanted to see if you scare easy. Then you had to ruin it by bashing my face in." Ace said as he walked out of the alley, motioning for Pyrrha to follow him.

"Forgive me if I don't see the humor in deliberately scaring your friends." Pyrrha replied, walking back out onto the well lit street. _So that's why I couldn't see him,_ Pyrrha thought to herself as she looked over Ace's outfit. She had to admit, he cut quite an intimidating figure in that wardrobe.

"Whatever. Yang and Ruby should be down soon." Ace said while peering into the red car. "How's it going ?" Ace asked.

"Ace! I almost didn't recognize you in that outfit!" Pyrrhic said, causing Ace to chuckle and pull his mask down past his chin.

"Sorry, Qrow says I gotta wear this if I'm gonna go with him and Taiyang." Ace said.

"So they're letting you go after all. Well, be careful Ace. Wouldn't want you to end up in the hospital again." Pyrrhic said.

"I don't plan on going to the hospital for a long time." Ace said.

"No one 'plans' on going to the hospital. Either way, you look scary, so if that's what Qrow was going for, then he did a good job. You've got perfect eyes for glaring." Pyrrhic complimented.

"Thanks… I guess." Ace replied, unsure of how to take the compliment.

"Ace, are you sure you wish to aid in apprehending this criminal? You may get hurt." Pyrrha asked.

"I'll be fine. What can some small time criminal throw at me?" Ace responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I don't know, why don't you ask him?" Yang said as she walked out of the hotel, followed by Ruby and Taiyang. Pyrrhic looked Taiyang up and down before chuckling.

"You look like a thug." The mother of Pyrrha said.

"I know," Taiyang said while sighing, "Thanks for doing this Pyrrhic."

"Oh I don't mind at all. Well girls, we should let the boys do their vigilante stuff. Hop in." Pyrrhic said.

"Okay!" Ruby chirped as she entered the red car. Yang wordlessly followed her sister.

"We'll pick 'em up tomorrow morning. Make sure they don't try to follow us." Taiyang said, whispering the last part.

"Alright. Any allergies I need to worry about?" Pyrrhic asked.

"Nope, although I would try to keep Ruby away from any raw sugar you have. There's a smallish chance she'll try to eat it." Taiyang said. He really needed to get that habit out of his daughter's system.

"Great! I'm taking off now. Be careful and I hope you manage to get your criminal." Pyrrhic said as she turned on the car.

"Bye girls! I love you both so much! Stay outta trouble!" Taiyang said, going into mushy dad mode.

"Bye dad!" Ruby happily said.

"See you tomorrow." Yang muttered, embarrassed from her dad's affectionate words.

"I'll tell you girls what we did tomorrow." Ace said.

"Don't forget our souvenirs!" Ruby said as Pyrrhic began to drive away.

"I won't!" Ace called out. Taiyang waited until Pyrrhic had driven out of view, and then turned to enter the hotel.

"C'mon Ace. We have business to attend to." Taiyang said. Ace followed the former Huntsman, knowing that they would soon be entering a crime lord's den.

… **Club Zen, one hour later…**

Qrow paused to check his watch before looking up at Club Zen. It was actually one of the more popular spots when it came to Mistral's nightlife. The outside was covered by bamboo and bonsai trees. The bouncer was even dressed like a monk.

"They're really trying to sell this whole 'zen' thing." Qrow muttered. Knowing he was on a time limit, the grizzled huntsman walked across the street while doing one last quick once over of his outfit. As with most popular, high end clubs, there was a line of people waiting to get in. Most of them were considerably younger than Qrow, though you wouldn't be able to tell right off the bat. Qrow completely ignored the line and walked right up to the bouncer.

"You gotta wait in line like everyone else." The bouncer said, not looking up from his clipboard.

"Actually, I don't." Qrow said while discreetly slipping Lien into the bouncer's hand.

"Head in." The bouncer said while opening the door, much to the outrage of those waiting in line.

"What the Hell!? We've been waiting for two hours to get in!" Some random guy called out in anger. "Why does he get special treatment!?"

"Don't know, don't care." The bouncer replied. Qrow chuckled in amusement while walking through the doors. Even though it was called Club Zen, the inside was anything but peaceful. Flashing lights and blaring music were everywhere. The dance floor was crowded with people. Qrow ignored the dance floor and beelined it straight to the bar.

"Gimme the strongest stuff you've got." Qrow said as he sat on a stool. Taiyang would probably be against him drinking strong alcohol on a mission, but Qrow wanted to enjoy himself. Besides, he was sure he could handle whatever the bartender gave him.

"Sake from the villages. No better drink in all the land." The bartender said while sliding a cup that looked more like a bowl to Qrow. The thirty-something year old man picked up the cup and stared at the liquid suspiciously. _Never had sake before. Well, better now than later,_ Qrow thought to himself as he downed the entire thing in one gulp.

"... give me the bottle." Qrow said, clearly enjoying the taste. The barkeep shrugged as he took out the bottle and slid it to Qrow's waiting hand.

"Take it easy. Like I said, that's some strong stuff." The bartender warned before going to check in on his other customers. Qrow poured himself more sake, but nursed it instead of swallowing it in one gulp. With his other hand Qrow pulled out his scroll and speed dialed Taiyang.

"Yeah, Qrow?" Taiyang asked. He and Ace were staked out on a building a few blocks away. Ace was currently playing some game on his scroll. Though he wasn't into video games very much, there was just something satisfying about using birds to crush pigs and destroy buildings.

"I'm in the club, and I've sampled what they have to offer." Qrow said while chuckling.

"I hope it's not anything too strong. We've got a job to do." Taiyang warned.

"I can handle it." Qrow said while sipping his sake.

"Sure you can. Give it a few more minutes before you start mingling. Ace and I are going to make our way over there." Taiyang said. "See if you can find out anything useful while you're at it."

"Sure thing. You'll know the club when you see it. It's the one with bamboo and bonsai trees in front."

"That… sounds unbelievably tacky." Taiyang said.

"I kinda like it. The staff is dressed like monks. Would be pretty peaceful if it wasn't for the loud music and sweaty teenagers." Qrow commented.

"Whatever. Ace and I are making our way over there now." Taiyang said before hanging up. "You ready?" Taiyang asked Ace.

"Hang on… ha! Three stars!" Ace exclaimed in satisfaction. "Alright, let's get out of here." Ace said as he got up and put away his scroll.

"Follow my lead." Taiyang said before jumping to the next building over.

"Sure." Ace replied, jumping to the next building while he did so. Taiyang ran before leaping again, landing on another building. Ace followed in what turned into a game of leap frog on a massive scale. At one point they had to jump over a particularly busy street, but Ace was pretty sure that no one had seen them. By the time they had made it to Club Zen, Ace wasn't even winded.

"Let's see if there's an entrance on the roof." Taiyang said. Wanting to show off a little, Ace took a running start before jumping. He did multiple flips in mid-air before landing on the roof of Club Zen.

"No one likes a show off Ace." Taiyang scolded after completing his much more modest jump.

"Couldn't help myself." Ace said while grinning, though you wouldn't have been able to tell because of his mask.

"Whatever. If Glynda's intel is right, then there should be a door right… here!" Taiyang triumphantly said as he found the door that led into the building. Ace walked up to the door and tried the doorknob, but couldn't get it to budge.

"It's locked." Ace stated.

"Wasn't expecting that, but luckily I know how to pick locks." Taiyang said, causing Ace to look at the blonde man in surprise.

"How?" Ace asked. Taiyang just didn't look like the type who would know how to pick locks. That was more up Qrow's alley.

"Qrow taught me how." Taiyang stated as he inspected the doorknob.

 _Now that makes sense,_ Ace thought to himself. "So, why did Qrow teach you this?" Ace asked, wanting to fill the silence while Tai tried to figure out the best way to pick the lock.

"He wanted me to help him break into the teacher's lounge at Beacon and pour laxatives into their coffee." Taiyang stated.

"Did you do it?"

"Oh yeah. To this day Port refuses to drink the coffee in the teacher's lounge. I heard he busted one of the toilet stalls that day." Taiyang said, chuckling quietly.

"I actually feel sorry for the guy." Ace said.

"That's nothing. Remind me to tell you what we did to Oobleck." Taiyang said as he got up. "Alright, after careful inspection, I've managed to deduce the make and model of this particular lock. Normally, it would be easy to undo, but a lot of it is rusted. If I'm going to pick it, I'd need plenty of time, concentration, and Qrow's lock picking kit."

"But you don't have any of those, except maybe concentration." Ace pointed out.

"Which is why I say screw it. We're going with option B." Taiyang said as he pulled out Qrow's sword and slashed twice, leaving an X mark in the door. Taiyang causally kicked the weakened door, shattering it into four large pieces.

"Straight to the point. I like it." Ace commented as he pulled out his pistol and held it at the ready. "So, should I go first?"

"Not happening. Follow me." Taiyang curtly replied. The blonde man held the almost impractically large sword at the ready as he entered the door. Ace followed, smiling in anticipation. The duo walked down a stairway before coming to another closed door. Taiyang pressed his ear against the door, listening for any signs of people on the other side. Ace, not having anything else to do, waited for Taiyang's signal.

"Can we go in now?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, but you need to understand something first. As much as I love our witty banter, we can't have any of that from this point forward. You're going to have to treat this as seriously as you can, okay?" Taiyang asked, his normal warm smile replaced by a serious frown. Ace regarded his partner with a raised eyebrow before his face hardened to mimic Taiyang.

"Yes sir." Ace said, gun at the ready.

"Good. The moment I open this door, I want you to go in." Taiyang said, bracing himself to open the door. Ace wordlessly nodded and bent his knees slightly, ready to leap into whatever was on the other side of the door. Taiyang silently counted to three in his hand before opening the door. Ace combat rolled through the doorway. Ace found himself in a dimly lit hallway. Doorways peppered each side of the hall, but there weren't any goons in the hallway.

"All clear." Ace said. Taiyang cautiously walked into the hall, giant sword at the ready. "What now?" Ace asked.

"Well, Qrow and I were only able to find out he would be in this building tonight. We don't actually know where he is specifically."

"Then what's the plan?" Ace asked, his narrowed gaze not leaving one side of the hallway. Taiyang was watching the other.

"Qrow suggested we just storm each room and destroy whoever's in there, one o those hopefully being Saul. I, on the other hand, would rather just enter one room and question one of his goons." Taiyang said.

"Alright, but won't that be noisy?" Ace whispered.

"Leave that to Qrow." Taiyang muttered as he pulled out his scroll.

 _Turn up the music,_ Taiyang texted, receiving a reply almost immediately.

 _You want me to pump up the volume?_ Qrow texted back. Taiyang sighed in annoyance, picturing the smug smirk Qrow must be sporting right now.

 _Just give us our damn distraction,_ Taiyang messaged back.

 **...**

"He is taking this way too seriously," Qrow muttered as he put his scroll away. The veteran huntsman left his spot at the bar and walked towards the DJ. _Tai might have been right about this being tacky. Having the Dj look like buddha is pushing the zen thing,_ Qrow thought to himself as he approached the DJ. True to his word, the musician quite literally looked like buddha.

"What'dya want?" The DJ asked once he had noticed Qrow.

"I want you to turn up the music as loud as you can." Qrow said.

"Why?" The DJ suspiciously asked.

"I came to party, not bore myself to sleep. Besides, do this ad there'll be something in it for you." Qrow said, discreetly slipping the music expert a wad of Lien.

"You got it." The buddha look-alike said as he put his headphones back on. Qrow didn't bother waiting for the DJ to follow through. The veteran huntsman, once out of sight, pulled out a pair of earplugs and put them in his ears.

No need to wreck his sense of hearing for this mission.

Seconds later the DJ turned the music to its maximum setting. Even through his earplugs, Qrow could still hear the music. His body was almost shaking from the bass of the music. The regular party goers seemed not to notice. They just continued dancing, drinking, and being all round basic partiers.

 **...**

"Whoa." Ace muttered when he suddenly felt the bass of the music shaking everything around him. Heck, he could hear the music all the way from the top floor.

"And that would be our distraction." Taiyang said. "Pick a door Ace." The blonde haired man said. Ace nodded, smirking under his mask. The red eyed boy walked to a random door, followed closely by Taiyang. Ace gazed at his adopted uncle before both wordlessly nodded. Ace raised his leg and kicked in the door. They entered a large room, most likely some sort of break room based off of the pool table and fridge located on one side, and found over a dozen lackeys sitting at a table. Both parties stared at each other for exactly two seconds before springing into action. The goons, having gotten a look at Taiyang and Ace's attire, quickly deduced that they weren't supposed to be here.

"Leave one of them conscious." Taiyang told Ace. The red eyed boy charged the group while they were scrambling for their weapons. The first goon Ace faced off against swung a red katana with the intent to slice Ace in two. The young teenager ducked the clumsy sword swing and punched the goon in his solar plexus. The man collapsed to his knees, dropping his katana and holding his chest in pain. Before Ace could continue, he had a brief vision of a lackey shooting him from behind. Ace immediately dropped to the floor. A split second later Ace heard a gunshot, followed by a bullet whizzing over his head. Ace turned around, leveled his pistol, and fired. To the former pirate's shock, the bullet tore through the man's shoulder, leaving a smear of blood on the wall.

 _He doesn't have aura!?_ Taiyang thought to himself in alarm. Criminals as big as Saul almost always exclusively hired aura empowered criminals. By the look on Ace's face, he was surprised as well.

"What the-!?" Ace began, but was cut off when an underling bigger than the rest slammed a Zanbato into his side. Ace was much too distracted to dodge or block. The red eyed boy crashed through the pool table and through the wall, landing in the next room over.

"Ace!" Taiyang said in alarm. The Blonde man brandished Qrow's sword and ran to the man, clearly some sort of higher up compared to the goons, with the zanbato. Two oversized swords clashed with a loud clang, yet the loud music made it so no one outside the immediate vicinity could hear them. Taiyang caught movement in the corner of his eye and managed to duck just in time for another red katana to swing overhead. The blonde man silently swore as he was surrounded by underlings. _Dammit Ace! Hurry up and help me!_ Taiyang thought to himself. He was positive he could defeat them all on his own, but he didn't want to risk one of them getting away to tell Saul.

"This just got a lot harder." Ace muttered to himself as he sat up, pieces of wall and pool table around him. _I can't kill these guys while Taiyang's here. I don't think he'd like it if I raised my kill count from one Beowolf to one Beowolf and fifty goons._ Ace looked around, and, to his frustration, he had ended up in another break room. This one had nearly two dozen criminals.

"Ace! Could use your help here!" Taiyang yelled while sidestepping the oversized sword that was the zanbato.

"I'm a little busy!" Ace yelled back as he pulled out his knife.

… **Pyrrha's house…**

"So… what would you girls like to do?" Pyrrha asked. She, Yang, and Ruby were in her room, painted red obviously, while Pyrrhic cooked dinner. Based off of the heavenly scent rising from the kitchen, Pyrrhic knew a thing or two about cooking.

"What'dya usually do when you're here?" Yang asked, having mellowed out on the way here. _Might as well make the best of this,_ she has reasoned to herself.

"... train." Pyrrha admitted.

"Besides that." Yang said.

"Uh… sleep?" Pyrrha nervously said.

"What do you usually do when you have friends over?" Yang asked, trying a different approach.

"..." Pyrrha remained silent, an embarrassed blush beginning to form on her face. Yang gave Pyrrha a questioning gaze before her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh my Oum. Do you not have any friends?" Yang asked, her jealousy being overpowered by sympathy.

"No!" Pyrrha hastily said. "Well, I have... acquaintances, I guess." Pyrrha said.

"How? A girl as strong and pretty as you should be the very definition of popularity." Yang asked. Yang felt the back of her mind protest at the fact she had just admitted Pyrrha was pretty.

"Thank you for the compliment, but it's a little more complicated than that. As you saw, I am above average in fighting ability," Pyrrha said, modestly describing her ability, "to the point no one in my class or the classes above at Sanctum can match me."

"And?" Yang asked.

"Everyone assumes I am too good to even try being friends with me." Pyrrha sadly said. "As such, I lack the kind of friendships other people my age have. This is the first time I've ever had anyone sleeping over." Pyrrha admitted.

"Oh, wow." Yang said, her eyes widening and reflecting sympathy. _I guess I could be nicer to her,_ Yang thought to herself.

"I'm sorry. You're probably bored out of your mind." Pyrrha mumbled.

"No!" Yang said. "It's fine. Listen, I've been to plenty of sleepovers before. I can teach you, if that's what you want." Yang proposed.

"Really? That would be wonderful!" Pyrrha exclaimed, overjoyed.

"Alright. First, we change into our pajamas." Yang said. All three girls were still in their day clothes.

"Okay, then what?" Pyrrha asked, completely focused on what Yang was saying.

"We play Kung Fu Ultimate Ninja Death Battle." Yang said, causing Ruby to cheer in excitement.

"That sounds like fun, but… what is Kung Fu Ultimate Ninja Death Battle?" Pyrrha asked, an apologetic smile adorning her face. Ruby stared at Pyrrha in shock and disbelief, causing Pyrrha to nervously rub her arm.

"It's Ace all over again." Ruby complained, playful annoyance clear in her voice.

"I'm sorry?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, Ace didn't know what Kung Fu Ultimate Ninja Death Battle was, either. Don't worry about Ruby. She thinks her video game is more important than it actually is." Yang said.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this blasphemy from my own sister." Ruby said.

… **With Ace and Taiyang…**

Taiyang silently mourned his well thought out plan. It had been a calm, collected plan where stealth and precision were key to their success. Of course, even the best plans can go awry. As it turns out, all it took for Taiyang's plan to be put on temporary hold was a mob of underlings in a limited environment.

What had started off as a fairly ordinary fight had quickly turned into a giant clusterfuck. While Taiyang fought the first group of thugs, Ace found himself surrounded by a second group. Within seconds, Ace's fight had spilled into the hallway. The red eyed boy, though surrounded on all sides, made the best of his situation. True to his word, the enclosed space of the hallway, made even smaller by the giant mass of bodies pressing against each other, was making it very difficult for those goons whose weapons included swords to fight efficiently.

The same couldn't be said for Ace's knife. Because of its much smaller size, Ace was able to wield his bladed weapon with almost no difficulty whatsoever. He had been forced to holster his pistol after he had emptied its clip. Attacks were being sent at Ace so frequently that he had no time to reload. However, even with all the advantages he had, the sheer number of enemies Ace was facing was nearly overwhelming. One second he would block a sword blow only to have to dodge a gunshot the next.

"Someone tell the boss!" The man with the zanbato commanded while sidestepping Taiyang's attack. One random lackey obeyed, quickly leaving the room.

"Ace! Someone's trying to warn the boss!" Taiyang called out while parrying three different swords at the same time.

"On it!" Ace called, spotting the messenger while ducking under four simultaneous attacks. With no other option, Ace flipped his knife and threw it at the retreating criminal. As he didn't know whether the goon had aura or not, Ace aimed for his leg. Ace, though he was perfectly fine with killing everyone here, wanted to avoid Taiyang's reaction should he actually kill someone. He winced when he saw the blade sink all the way to the hilt in the man's thigh. The goon collapsed as blood puddled around him, clutching his leg in pain.

"Carefull! It's like you're trying to kill him!" Taiyang scolded while parrying a slash from the goon with the zanbato.

 _If only you knew,_ Ace thought to himself in morbid amusement. The red eyed boy grimaced when he felt someone slash at the back of his head. In hindsight, it would have been a better idea to throw his empty pistol.

"Just piss off!" Taiyang swore while clashing swords with the zanbato wielding goon again. The blonde man couldn't land a solid hit with all these other lackeys constantly attacking him. Taiyang found himself being pressured backwards. Had Taiyang wanted a moment of respite, he could have simply switched to gun mode and shot shell after shell at his enemies. The blonde haired man couldn't do it, though. He didn't want to risk hitting those who had no aura. As such, he had to settle for bringing them down one at a time.

 _Alright, left-right-crouch-sidestep-leg sweep-right-right-cro-dammit!_ Ace thought to himself as he was unable to dodge a sword blow. The former pirate was getting frustrated. His lack of training in haki was beginning to show itself. As it was, his kenbunshoku haki would only manifest itself randomly, sometimes alerting him to an attack. In the long run, it was more detrimental than helpful as Ace couldn't rely on it and would lose focus every time it did happen. The red eyed boy evaded a sword swing before delivering a haymaker to the attacker's stomach. Not bothering to see if his attack did anything, Ace turned and caught a sword blade between his palms. With a simple jerk he tore the katana from the goon's grasp and, in that same moment, swept the legs out from under three goons.

Katana in hand, Ace did his best to use his weapon in the limited environment he was in. The young prodigy frantically parried and dodged attacks while making sure no one was slinking away to warn Saul. Sparing a glance at Taiyang, Ace silently swore when he saw the former huntsmen in a similar state of being overwhelmed. At this rate they would never get to the crimelord. There were simply too many enemies in a too small hallway for Ace and Taiyang to make any meaningful headway into lowering their numbers. Had this fight occurred in a more open area, the fight would have drastically favored Taiyang and Ace.

 _Okay, I'm backed up against a wall, there's still a lot of people to beat up, and we're running out of time,_ Ace summarized to himself. Unable to see any way out of this situation, Ace decided to pull out his trump card. The red eyed youth had a moment of frustration at the thought of having to explain this to Taiyang.

"Taiy, i have an idea! Just… just don't freak out!" Ace yelled over the cacophony in the hallway.

"Ace, what're you planning!?" Taiyang called back in suspicion. Curiosity and worry outweighing caution, Taiyang switched to gun mode and fired a few volleys at the lackeys. Satisfied that he now had a little breathing room, Taiyang spared a glance at Ace. The older huntsman was baffled when he saw flames begin to coalesce around Ace.

" **Enkai** " Ace stated as more and more fire gathered at his center. Taiyang looked on in wonder, having never known Ace to posses such an ability. That wonder, however, turned into dread when he saw one goon raise his katana.

"Ace look ou-!" Taiyang was unable to finish as the lackey swung, bisecting Ace from shoulder to hip. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Taiyang. For a brief moment, all Taiyang could feel was regret and horror. Shock began to run through Taiyang's body as he looked at the two halves of Ace, expecting them to fall to the ground, soaking in blood.

"I said don't freak out!" Ace yelled, causing Taiyang to be broken out of his stupor. To Taiyang's utter amazement, both halves of Ace's body reattached in a small flare of fire. Ace was none the worse for wear. The same couldn't be said for the lackeys in the next few seconds. Having gathered enough flames, Ace unleashed his attack.

" **Hibashira!** " Ace yelled out, unleashing a wave of fire all around him. People were sent crashing backwards from the sheer force of the blast. Those that had aura were comparatively lucky, only suffering minor burns and major bruising. Those without aura, however, soon found themselves with broken bones and second degree burns. So intense was the attack that those goons lucky enough to not be within the blast radius were left dumbfounded. Though he was as shocked as everyone else, Taiyang would not let this opportunity pass. He quickly disposed of the goons still standing, starting with the big one with the oversized sword. However, Taiyang kept his plan in mind and left one goon conscious, yet incapacitated.

"Damn did that feel good." Ace said with a sigh of satisfaction. Being able to finally use his fire against an enemy was like stretching a sore body part. You could immediately feel the relief. Ace looked around and spotted several small fires burning in the hallway. With a simple wave of his hand, the fires died out.

"Ace…" Taiyang said, his voice full of foreboding.

"Yeah?" Ace responded while suppressing a sigh. He knew what conversation they were about to have next.

"Want to tell me what _that_ was?" Taiyang asked, gesturing all around them.

"My semblance." Ace answered, doing his best to keep a straight face.

"What… how… I have so many questions." Taiyang said while rubbing his head in frustration, "but that can wait. Right now, we have a job to do." Taiyang finished while gesturing to the conscious lackey propped up against the wall. Ace nodded, glad he could postpone this conversation for a couple more hours. The duo approached the goon, intent on getting their information.

"Alright buddy, tell us where Saul is and I'll make sure things go a lot smoother for you." Taiyang reasoned, playing the good cop. The goon, though in no condition to argue, decided to be the dick he is.

"Go to Hell." The goon said before spitting in Taiyang's face. The former huntsman calmly wiped the saliva off of his face and took a deep, long breath.

"Ace, I think our friend here needs some persuasion" Taiyang said in a neutral tone while gesturing to the goon. Ace briefly debated on how to best intimidate the goon before spotting the large zanbato resting in the middle of the room.

"On it." Ace said before walking to the oversized blade. The red eyed boy casually picked up the zanbato with one hand, waving it slightly to test its weight and balance, before glaring at the unlucky lackey. The poor goon's eyes had nearly popped out of his skull when he saw Ace, barely a teenager, easily pick up and wield such an oversized sword. The damn thing was bigger than he was for crying out loud!

"Unless you want to get cleaved in half, I suggest you talk." Taiyang warned. Ace did another experimental, one armed swing to prove Taiyang's point.

"I'll do it, too." Ace added while resting the blade on his shoulder. The goon flinched when Ace took a threatening step forward, clearly psyched out.

"He's in the basement! Boss man's hashing out a deal with some faunus group!" The goon said, doing his best to inch away from Ace. Taiyang exchanged a glance with his young ward before looking back at the goon.

"Thanks." Taiyang said before casually slugging the lackey in his jaw, knocking out the criminal instantaneously.

"So we know where he is, what now?" Ace asked, sword still in hand.

"This could change our plans a little. First I'll message Qrow, then we head down to the basement." Taiyang answered while quickly sending Qrow an update.

"Shouldn't we try to hide the bodies or something?" Ace asked.

"Where're we gonna hide all of these guys? Besides, your little fire show kinda burned a lot of the hallway. It'd save us more time if we were to just beeline it to the basement." Taiyang answered. Ace nodded in agreement before gesturing for his surrogate uncle to lead the way. Wordlessly, the duo made their way to the nearest door. Right before entering, Taiyang glanced at Ace, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Why do you still have that thing?" Taiyang asked while pointing to the zanbato Ace was holding.

"I like it. It'll make a good souvenir." Ace answered. As if remembering something very important, Ace turned around, kneeled in front of one of the goons, and pulled out his knife. The unconscious goon groaned in pain from the action while Ace wiped his knife clean on the goon's shirt.

"Ace, that guy's probably gonna bleed out… and that guy… and him… and him." Taiyang said, only just realising how messed up some of the goons were. "We can't leave them like this." Taiyang said. Though he was used to death, and had even delivered it in some cases, he wanted to avoid losing a life as much as possible.

"We don't have a first aid kit. How're we supposed to help them?" Ace pointed out. Taiyang paused, unsure of what to say. They were on a time limit, and had no medical supplies. It made more sense to leave the goons to fend for themselves, yet Taiyang couldn't just leave them like that. An idea popped into Taiyang's head when he looked at the various burn marks Ace had left in the hallway. Taiyang immediately regretted thinking of that possibility. He would be asking a lot of Ace, and he wasn't sure if that would be healthy for someone Ace's age,

"Well… you could… you know… cauterize their wounds." Taiyang said, unsure how Ace would take the suggestion.

"Okay." Ace said with a shrug of his shoulders, not bothered by the suggestion. In fact he was a little bit jealous that he hadn't thought of it himself. Ace turned his fingers into fire with minimal effort. He then quickly cauterised every serious wound that needed attention. It wasn't a permanent fix, but it would tide them over until they could get proper medical attention.

"That was quick." Taiyang observed, somewhat unnerved at Ace's apparent indifference.

"We don't have much time. Should we go?"

"Yeah, let's." Taiyang said while moving to the staircase. Though it was a little awkward getting it through the entrance, Ace managed to bring his oversized sword with him. As they descended, Taiyang's scroll vibrated.

"Qrow's managed to become buddies with the bartender, and… woah." Taiyang muttered, his eyes widening in surprise.

"'Woah' what?" Ace asked.

"Turns out the 'faunus group' the guy mentioned is the full blown White Fang." Taiyang said. Ace's eyes widened in surprise. He'd known that the White Fang had been resorting to violence these days, but to hear they were in the company of actual criminals was a little shocking.

"Does that change our plan at all?" Ace asked. He could deal with his feelings towards the White Fang later. Right now he had to find a criminal mastermind and make him eat dirt.

"Yes it does. We are not prepared for a terrorist group. I think we might need to abort this mission." Taiyang said, worry beginning to creep into his mind.

"Screw that. We're already here, might as well get the job done." Ace said, not at all worried about the unexpected visitors.

"And what do you suggest we do about our faunus friends?" Taiyang prompted.

"We'll pick up Qrow and kick ass." Ace answered. Taiyang was not entertained by Ace's suggestion, so Ace tried to mend the situation. "Look, you saw what I could do upstairs. Believe me when I say that's just the tip of the iceberg. Trust me on this one." Ace reasoned. For added effect, his shoulders began flickering with flame. Taiyang was silent for a minute, silently debating Ace's proposal.

"... How's your aura reserves?" Taiyang asked. While he was nowhere near the danger zone, the upstairs fight had done some damage to his aura.

"Full enough." Ace answered. He didn't bother mentioning that his logia body didn't run on aura.

"Ace, if we do go down there, we won't know what we're going up against. Are you sure you want to do this?" Taiyang asked.

"Tai, I nearly got poisoned to death by this guy. Just try to fucking stop me." Ace said, ignoring Taiyang's scowl at his use of profanity.

"... fine. Let's go get Qrow. We're gonna need his help." Taiyang said. He typed up a message for Qrow before moving down the stairs.

 **...**

"East stairwell, huh?" Qrow murmured to himself while glancing at his scroll. _Guess we're actually gonna go through with this,_ Qrow thought to himself as he bid his good friend the bartender farewell. The grizzled huntsman looked around the room, trying to figure where in the Hell the east stairwell was.

…

"He's late." Ace observed.

"Knowing him, he's probably trying to figure out where the east stairwell is." Taiyang said. As if on cue, the door behind suddenly opened, revealing a somewhat buzzed Qrow.

"You would not believe how hard it was to… what's with the giant sword?" Qrow asked upon seeing the zanbato resting against the wall.

"Souvenir." Ace answered.

"Fair enough. So, we doing this or what?" Qrow asked.

"Ace wants to go down there, so I guess so. You'll probably need this." Taiyang sid while handing Qrow his sword.

"Now you don't have a weapon. Want my sword?" Ace asked while gesturing to the giant blade.

"No, I can get by just fine without a weapon. Alright, I'll take point. You and Qrow follow behind me." Taiyang said before moving down another flight of stairs.

"I, uh, had to show Taiyang my semblance." Ace whispered to Qrow as they followed Taiyang.

"How'd he take it?" Qrow asked.

"Surprisingly well, but I get the feeling he's just biding his time. I kinda got cut in half in front of him." Ace admitted, causing Qrow to stifle a laugh.

"Taiyang must have been about to spaz out." Qrow muttered. "Don't worry kid, I'll back you up with Taiyang." Any further talk was halted when they reached the bottom of the stairs. A door with the word 'basement' stood in front of them.

"We don't know what we're going to find on the other side of this door. Be careful in there. That goes for both of you." Taiyang said.

"We can handle ourselves just fine, Tai." Qrow said.

"Can we go in yet?" Ace asked, impatience clear in his tone.

"Everyone lock and load." Taiyang suggested. Qrow checked the ammunition on his sword while Ace loaded his pistol with a new clip of ammo.

"I'll lead." Qrow said. Before anyone could object, Qrow raised his leg and kicked the door down.

 **...**

"Look, i don't wanna be 'that guy' but my boss says that we'll only take the best of what you have. Can't overthrow the current regime with second rate guns and all that. You know how it is." A young, accented voice said. All around them were dozens of White Fang operatives rifling through numerous crates. Overseeing the operations were another couple dozen of Saul's own men. As the basement was fairly large, no one felt crowded in the slightest. In fact, it was actually kind of roomy.

"Of course not… er... Satin, was it?" Saul asked.

"Why yes it is. Thanks for remembering you human piece of filth!" Satin cheerfully said. Instead of wearing the generic uniform of the White Fang, Satin had opted for a more eccentric look. Sneakers in a brown and black checkers pattern adorned his feet, followed by brown pants. The pants had beige fur around the end of each leg. On his upper body, Satin had a generic black shirt. Over this shirt he had a brown jacket also lined with beige fur. The top of his head was covered with a brown top hat, though what hair did poke through was chocolate brown. Even his Grimm mask was different. Instead of white and red, the colors were brown and yellow. This, combined the way he carried himself, seemed to imply that Satin was no regular grunt.

"Er, right. Well, as you can see, we have the latest in Altesian rifles fresh from its packaging." Saul said while reaching into one of the crates. He pulled out a fairly generic rifle, though that was to be expected from mass produced items.

"Neato, so how're me and my guys supposed to lug this outta here?" Satin asked.

"You won't have to do anything. I'll have my men hide these weapons at a predetermined location outside of Mistral. You and your people can pick it up then." Saul said.

"That's pretty well thought out. I'm surprised a filthy bigot like you even thought of it~" Satin commented in his cheerful tone. Saul's eye twitched in annoyance, clearly forcing himself to calm down.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Saul began.

"I kinda do." Satin said while peeking into one of the many crates.

"... why are you purchasing weapons from me? Don't you hate humans?" Saul asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Cause there aren't any Faunus in Mistral with your kind of connections. We need weapons and we need them now, even if that means cooperating with human dipshits like you." Satin answered, his smile never leaving his face. Saul took a deep breath in an effort to keep from insulting his customer.

"Well, I won't keep you waiting then. If you'll just follow me, we can discuss the matter of paym-"

* _CRASH!*_

"What the Hell!?" Saul demanded as he ducked behind a couple of his goons. The door had suddenly imploded and was currently resting on the opposite side of the room. From the hole where the door used to be, three figures entered. Two were obviously adults while the third was younger, smaller. The younger figure and one of the adults were carrying massive swords, though the kid's sword was bigger than he was.

"Knock knock." Qrow said, clearly enjoying the moment. All activity in the basement seemed to halt as every eye in the room turned towards the trio of humans.

"Oh great, more humans." Satin muttered.

"So I take it you're Saul?" Taiyang asked while pointing at the crime lord.

"Get them!" Saul ordered. All of Saul's goons sprang into action, though the White Fang troops stayed in place.

"Yeah, what the scumbag said." Satin casually said while waving a dismissive hand in the trio's direction. The White Fang grunts followed their orders, going in for the attack. Qrow, Taiyang, and Ace had to immediately duck behind some pillars to avoid the torrent of gunfire fired in their direction. In retaliation, Qrow and Ace fired a few potshots, though it was largely ineffective.

"We're pinned down! Any ideas!?" Taiyang yelled over the roar of gunfire. He risked peeking his head around the pillar, but had to duck back immediately.

"I can distract them!" Ace called out, drawing Qrow and Taiyang's attention.

"How?" Taiyang mouthed. Ace answered by turning his hand into fire and waving it around. Qrow immediately got was Ace was saying.

"They can't hurt Ace when he's on fire, Tai. Those bullets will pass right through him." Qrow called out. Taiyang had some reservations about sending Ace to face this torrent of gunfire. However, as he couldn't think of any other idea, Taiyang was in no place to protest.

"Just stay away from the crates! You might trigger the ammo and dust in it!" Taiyang ordered. Ace nodded as he shouldered his zanbato. In an area this big, he could use the enormous blade with no problem whatsoever. Pausing to make sure he was ready, Ace ran into the torrent of gunfire. His body was instantly shredded with bullet holes, but, to the surprise of their aggressors, the holes filled themselves in seconds later. Ace grinned as a bullet tore through his right eye, but regenerated in a flash of fire just moments later. Shocked at Ace's apparent indifference to their attacks, the grunts faltered for a second.

This was all the time Taiyang and Qrow needed.

Sensing the momentary lapse in gunfire, the former partners sprang into action. In the blink of an eye, they were engaging any grunt with a melee weapon. As their other enemies couldn't fire on them without hurting their comrades, Qrow and Taiyang were safe for the moment. Of course, in this situation, the term 'safe' was largely relative.

"Ace! Take out the gunmen!" Taiyang ordered while ducking under a clumsy sword swing. Ace nodded before jumping over the line of melee fighters. Bullets sprayed the air as fruitless attempts were made to stop Ace. When he landed, Ace swung his massive sword, catching three goons on the blade. With a grunt of exertion, Ace threw them into the wall. Using the momentum from this attack, Ace spun and crushed a human lackey into the ground. Multiple bullet holes appeared on Ace's torso, though the former pirate barely paid them any attention. Ace levelled his pistol and fired quick, precise shots. Instead of hitting the attackers themselves, Ace, since he knew aura would have minimized any damage he could do, aimed for the weapons themselves. Numerous curses went Ace's way as enemies were forced to abandon their busted guns.

… **Pyrrha's house...**

"... and we eat this cookie dough raw?" Pyrrha asked. Ruby had already wolfed down her own portion, though that was to be expected.

"It's too much work waiting thirty minutes for these to bake, so we just eat it raw." Yang said. Pyrrha nodded as she placed a glob of chocolate chip cookie dough in her mouth. Pyrrha murmured in satisfaction before swallowing.

"Fascinating, so what else does one do at slumber parties?" Pyrrha asked.

"Let's see, I guess we could play truth or dare?" Yang suggested.

"No! Truth or Dare's boring. Everyone picks truth and wusses out of the dares!" Ruby protested.

"That's true. It's really more of a game for big groups of people anyway." Yang conceded.

"I know! We could tell scary stories!" Ruby ecstatically suggested.

"No." Yang shot down. Pyrrha was silent, witnessing the interaction with a confused expression.

"But why?" Ruby whined.

"Because you get nightmares whenever you see and/or hear anything even remotely scary. Besides, Ace isn't here to tell you more of the story to calm you down." Yang explained.

"Ace told you a story?" Pyrrha asked.

"Not _a_ story. _The_ story." Ruby corrected.

"What's this story, if I may ask?"

"It's a story Ace has been telling us since we were kids. He still hasn't gotten to the ending." Yang explained.

"Yeah! It's full of pirates and devil fruit and sailing and fighting and friendship and brothers and comedy and evil marines and-!"

"Ruby you're gonna spoil the entire thing." Yang spoke up, causing Ruby to cover her mouth with her hands.

"It sounds interesting. Could you tell me the story?" Pyrrha asked, eyes brimming with interest.

"Ace tells it better, but I guess Ruby and I can tell you the beginning just fine." Yang said.

"So it all started in Windmill Village…" Ruby began. Pyrrha paid full attention, not wanting to miss a single detail.

… **With Ace and company…**

Ace felt great. There was just something so relieving about being able to use his logia body in battle. He loved seeing the shocked expressions of people when he would regenerate from any wound he sustained. His current favorite was when someone had decapitated him. His neck and head had reconnected moments later. Ace was sure the goon was gonna die of a heart attack right then and there.

Sparing a glance at Taiyang and Qrow, Ace was glad to see they weren't having very much difficulty in dispatching their opponents. Though they hadn't been active partners for years, it was child's play for Taiyang and Qrow to fall back into their rhythm. They had been fighting alongside each other for so long that they instinctively knew what each would do next. Qrow would ignore an attack only for Taiyang to knock out the would be attacker. Whenever someone fired dust ammunition at them, Qrow would cover Taiyang with his sword, making sure they were both fine.

Seeing them fight reminded Ace of Luffy. He and his brother had been so in tune that, even after not seeing each other for three years, they had demonstrated perfect teamwork at Marineford. The kind of teamwork Qrow and Taiyang had only came from years of working together. It only came from having complete and utter trust in each other.

Ace's reminiscing was cut short when a dust round tore through his shoulder. Almost casually, he raised his giant sword and smashed the attacker against the ground.

…

"I think our guys are losing." Satin observed while sidestepping a thrown White Fang grunt. Even though his subordinates were being torn down, Satin didn't have an ounce of worry in him. The same couldn't be said for Saul.

"Oh to Hell with this. I have to get out of here!" Saul said while jostling past Satin. The Faunus commander watched the crimelord rush to a seemingly inconspicuous supply locker. Saul pulled it forwards before pushing it to the right. The locker, along with a portion of the wall, detached to reveal an elevator door.

"What about me?" Satin asked.

"You and your animal friends can burn in Hell!" Saul cursed before stepping into the elevator door

…

"Guys, Saul's getting away!" Ace called out while parrying a sword swing. Sure, he could just let the sword pass through him, but this was funner.

"Qrow." Taiyang said while gesturing to the elevator door. Qrow nodded before leaping atop a lackey's face. Using it as a springboard, Qrow jumped over the mob of underlings. While in midair, Qrow switched his sword into gun mode and fired five shots, all aimed at the elevator door. The doors were torn to shreds as Qrow landed. Not wasting a second, Qrow stepped into the elevator shaft, digging his sword into the wall to keep from falling. His gaze fell upwards as he watched the elevator quickly ascend.

"I'm going after Saul!" Qrow called out as he jumped, tearing his sword out of the wall while doing so. He wall jumped at an incredible pace, not at all hindered by his cumbersome weapon.

"Think he'll need help?" Ace called out as he let a sword bisect him, knocking out the grunt while doing so.

"I'm not sure. This is Saul we're talking about." Taiyang replied as he judo threw a grunt into a couple others.

"I can handle things here if you want." Ace said, leaning his giant sword on his shoulder.

"Ace I don't think that's a goo-"

" _Uh Tai? I could use some help here."_ Qrow's voice said from Taiyang's scroll

"What happened?" Taiyang asked, sparing a concerned glance at the elevator door.

" _Well, turns out he has what I can only describe as a heavily armored car with a tank barrel on the roof._ " Qrow responded.

"Wait what?" Ace blurted out.

"Qrow, where is Saul now?" Taiyang demanded as he furiously punched a white fang grunt into a stone pillar, causing it to crack.

" _Speeding down the surface streets._ " Qrow replied.

"... fuck." Ace commented.

"Ace I need you to go with Qrow and-"

" _Tai I need you to come instead. Saul's got cars here. We can chase after him."_ Qrow said.

"But-"

" _No time for arguing Tai. Ace doesn't know how to drive and I need someone to man the car. Hurry the Hell up or Glynda will kill us!"_ Qrow ordered. Taiyang grit his teeth in frustration, indecision clear on his face.

"Tai, there's almost none left! I can take care of this!" Ace yelled while crushing a grunt with his sword.

"Dammit Ace, if you get yourself killed I'll have to kill you!" Taiyang threatened before sprinting to the elevator shaft and vaulting up its walls. Ace spared a glance at Taiyang before focusing on his enemy. All around the room were the defeated bodies of numerous White Fang grunts. There were only three left, including the one dressed differently.

"I think I'll take my turn now." Satin commented as he turned so his left side was facing Ace.

"Are you sure boss?" One of the remaining grunts asked.

"Yeah, you two just focus on getting our boys outta here." Satin instructed.

"Will do!" Both grunts said before they started carrying unconscious grunts out of the basement.

"Hey! What makes you think I'll just let you get away!?" Ace demanded as raised his zanbato for a mighty blow. Just as he was about to crush the two grunts, Satin delivered a devastating kick into Ace's side, sending the former pirate straight through a stone pillar.

"I think I'll be able to buy them more than enough time." Satin commented as he lowered his leg.

 _ **A/N: Hello all! Here is the chapter half as promised. I tried to polish it up as best I could so it feels complete. Now sure if it does, but I tried, and that's what matters. At least that's what I tell myself.**_

 _ **I seem to be really bad at judging how long it'll take to finish a particular story arc. What was originally supposed to be a single chapter event has now turned into this. My main problem is probably overestimating how much I can fit into one chapter. I'll try to get a better sense for these kinds of things. I don't want half finished chapter posts to become a recurring thing. Believe me, I seriously would rather avoid that.**_

 _ **It's been over a year and I haven't even gotten close to Beacon. That's a little depressing in all honesty. I wanted to be further ahead in the story by now, but what are you gonna do? You'll just have to be patient with me. Hopefully the wait will be worth it.**_

 _ **Moving on, this story is officially over it's one year anniversary. That is absolutely incredible. I never expected this to get the amount of attention and support it did. I'm ecstatic that you all find my writing decent enough to read. Truly, thank you all for helping me grow and sticking with me through erratic writing schedules and a haphazardly thrown together story. On a side note, I'm a college student now! I'm excited over continuing my education, but of course this means I'll have less time to write. I'm sorry, but this story will always take second place to real life.**_

 _ **Also, I was over the moon when the Ace novel was announced. I was even happier when they gave Ace haki. I can't wait to see where this goes.**_

 _ **That's about all I have to say. Once again, thank you for all your support over the past few months. I hope I can keep delivering the content you enjoy.**_

 _ **I'll see you all next chapter.**_

 _ **Until then**_


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